Tobique Dam Bridge Closure
It’s enough to make a concerned citizen wonder if there’s a conspiracy afoot to destroy the Village of Perth-Andover.
On February 27th representatives from the Department of Transport and Infrastructure met with Emergency Personnel and members of DNR and the Village Council to announce that the Tobique Dam Bridge will be completely closed for repairs for 8 weeks this summer, from Canada Day until Labour Day.
That’s closed as in there are no plans to provide a temporary bridge. In fact, DTI apparently has no concern whatsoever for the economic, health and safety issues that will be created by closing this bridge.
DTI representatives had no alternative plan to offer, their job is to simply fix the bridge no matter what impact this will have on local residents.
But wait, it gets better! The closure for this year is merely Phase I!
That’s right….amazingly, hold onto your hats because there’s a Phase II to this project!
The 8 week closure planned for this summer will only see half the bridge repaired.
DTI plans to close the bridge again next summer for another 8 weeks to complete the repair job!
This is not a project we should just sit back and watch happen.
If you aren’t outraged, you aren’t paying attention!
The economic impact this will have on Perth-Andover cannot be over-stated.
Tobique First Nations residents, as well as many folks living in the surrounding areas regularly shop in Perth-Andover.
Tobique First Nation alone has about the same number of residents of Perth-Andover. Cutting that community off from Perth-Andover will reduce commerce in the village by up to 50 percent!
In a community already reeling from the devastation of last year’s flood, this could very well be the final death blow to our village’s business sector.
And how about the effect on Emergency Services? The detour over the Arthurette bridge or Brooks bridge adds another 25 miles to get to Hotel Dieu.
People who now commute over the bridge to work in Perth-Andover, or vice versa, will have 50 miles added to their daily trip.
June through August is the height of the agricultural season. Farmers need to cross that bridge.
What about the Farmer’s Market? Do you think people who sell vegetables will drive an extra 50 miles to sell some produce?
Gas prices spike every summer, which will make the cost of the trip even more ridiculous, not to mention the extra hour spent driving!
It is a fact that the bridge needs work. But it absolutely blows my mind that DTI reps can so blatantly disregard the effects this closure will have on our community.
Furthermore, how can they not have even considered any alternatives? As if totally incapable of thinking outside the box, they dropped this bomb apparently without a concern in the world about the real living, breathing humans this will affect.
They got a job to do and they’re going to do it….we citizens are on our own!
All local citizens , from both Perth-Andover and Tobique First Nation, need to get on board to deal with this issue together.
You personally may never cross that bridge, but if Perth-Andover businesses are wiped out there won’t be much of a village left to live in.
This could well provide the ammunition that will enable the government to administer the coup de grace …the final death blow…to our hospital!
Call and write our politicians. We have an Army Base at Gagetown. The Army Corps of Engineers can certainly come in and erect a temporary pontoon bridge for the duration of the repairs.
Hell, they could even fix the bridge all at once instead of dragging it out over two years if we had a floating bridge!
So get mad, get involved and speak up!
The community you save will be your own!
Stephanie Kelley
