There is some strong support in Wallaceburg to make sure the Base Line Bridge can keep moving.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent held a meeting at the Wallaceburg Service Centre Wednesday night to get feedback on expensive repairs to the swing bridge on the Sydenham River. The bridge will either become a fixed/non-movable structure or continue as a movable structure.
A municipal survey stated movable bridges are typically two times the capital cost of fixed bridges of similar size and are more complex, requiring significant expertise and on-going costs to operate. The same survey showed movable bridges in Wallaceburg racked up significant costs in 2019 with 41 large boats requesting bridge openings during that time -- almost half of those were for WAMBO alone. The cost per boat per year for the bridges works out to about $27,000 each vessel.
The majority of people who attended a public meeting to discuss the future of the Base Line Bridge in Wallaceburg want it to remain a movable span. February 20, 2020. (Photo by Paul Pedro)
Wallaceburg councillor Aaron Hall said the winning bid for the repairs to the Base Line Bridge (that would keep the bridge movable) came in roughly $1 million over budget, but maintains that the message from the community is loud and clear.
"There's a lot of concern from community groups like WAMBO and others. I know the Legion has expressed a lot of concern that it would severely limit the future for those types of organizations. With the unknown, it would be hard to attract boaters here if that structure is not movable," said Hall.
Hall said he sides with the community.
"I firmly believe that we need to keep it a movable structure, absolutely. I hear the concerns from the community. Our waterways are part of the identity of Wallaceburg, that's in the past, that's now and that should be in the future as well. We need to make the repairs necessary and move forward," he added.
Hall said he appreciates fiscal responsibility but maintaining part of Wallaceburg's identity is worth the cost of repairing the structural and mechanical elements of the bridge.
"We're looking at growing our community. That's been a mandate of council and when you're looking at growth and looking at making it the most attractive community possible, to stand out we need to do everything we can and utilize the natural assets that we have a shine a light on that," Hall said.
The bridge survey found here will remain open to the public until February 24.
The contract for the repairs is planned to go to the next Chatham-Kent Council meeting on March 2.
Base Line Bridge is only 26 years old and has an average of 5,600 vehicles a day.