Panel data provided by Madison's Canadian Lumber Reporter.

A Link lost?

By 250 News

The Cameron Street Bridge was to re-open on Saturday after it's annual engineering inspection, but that inspection found wood rot has advanced to the point where the the span's structural integrity may be at risk. 

Prince George Mayor Colin Kinsley says, "it's kind of our worst nightmare. We knew we may be on borrowed time, but every year it passed inspection."

The city's Transportation Manager, Frank Blues, says the engineer will now develop a work plan on how to address the problems, what the costs will be and the timing involved. But he admits the costs have been rising dramatically in the past few years. "At the present time, we're spending, on the average, about $170,000.00 for the last several years."

Last fall, city council voted 5-3 in favour of a 22.4-million dollar replacement for the 73-year-old bridge, at the same spot on the Nechako River.

Councillor Dan Rogers cast one of the opposing votes and he says now is the time to develop a business-case for the replacement. He says putting a new bridge a stone's throw away from the newly-renovated John Hart bridge might not be the best approach. "If it's industrial traffic that we're trying to serve here, perhaps across the Fraser, towards the pulpmill, to give a secondary route north, is a better location." 

As for how to fund the replacement, the mayor says, "We're patiently waiting for the new Canada-B.C. infrastructure rural fund to be signed." He says he's holding out for that three-way split of the price tag.


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