The possibility of closing McDougall Line Bridge in east Tilbury is set to make for a lengthy discussion during Monday night's council meeting.
A motion by Councillor Karen Kirkwood-Whyte up for voting requests that the municipality divest the bridge.
In September 2019, after getting a recommendation from staff to divest and close the bridge because of its deteriorating condition, council instead voted in favour of moving forward with replacing the bridge for just under $3-million. Prior to that decision, the bridge had been on the divestment list since 2013.
The bridge is located on McDougall Line at Merlin Road. It is often used as a shortcut as a way for farm vehicles to get onto Queen’s Line from Merlin Road. During the meeting in 2019, council heard pleas from area farmers who expressed that the bridge was a vital roadway for slow-moving agriculture vehicles.
"We ask administration to come up with recommendations to rationalize roads, bridges, drainage ditches and other assets," said Kirkwood-Whyte. "Then it appears though, when it comes to council and there's opposition, that we back off and don't accept the recommendation."
Since then, no construction work has been done on the bridge. However, according to Kirkwood-Whyte's motion, $50,000 has been spent on consulting costs to date.
The estimated cost to fix McDougall Line Bridge is around $2.7-million, funding that Kirkwood-Whyte notes has not been committed to yet. Her motion also references that the municipality only currently has about 54 per cent of the funding required to maintain its existing infrastructure.
"We never have enough money to do all the repairs and maintenance that needs to be done on an annual basis. This is one of those very tough decisions that have to be made," she said. "The bottom line for me is if circumstances change and we haven't committed the money yet, we need to take a look and say 'is this one of the things that we must reconsider?'"
During the initial discussion about leaving the bridge open, several of the deputations from residents expressed concerns that closing the bridge would increase safety risks on Queens Line in addition to negatively affecting the agriculture community.
However, Kirkwood-Whyte said all the concerns raised during the meeting will now be addressed through other projects in the works. This includes traffic control improvements at the intersection of Queens Line and Merlin Road that are set to be done by the end of 2022 and the realignment of the McDougall and Queens Line intersection by the end of 2021 which will make it easier to turn onto Queens Line and improve sightlines.
In early March 2021, council also approved a Revised Bridge and Culvert Divestment Criteria Matrix which provides criteria for divesting bridges. Key points include that closing a bridge must not pose safety concerns to the public, that the bridge has a low traffic volume and that the closure wouldn't create a detour for commuters that's longer than 10 minutes.
Kirkwood-Whyte said the closure of McDougall Line Bridge would fit with this criteria.
If the bridge is divested, removing it and creating a turnaround would cost around $500,000. Kirkwood-Whyte said she would hope that the money saved on the project could be better spent.
"If we have the ability to be able to redirect roughly $2.2-million to other priority infrastructure needs, that would be great," she said.
Kirkwood-Whyte said she recognizes the decision isn't an easy one to make and closing the bridge would be an inconvenience for some commuters. However, she said it's not solely about the money, it's also about setting a precedent for future discussions and making an effort to identify areas where money could be better directed.
"I know it's a tough decision, I know that it's not a popular one," she said. "But sometimes these tough decisions have to be made. If we do this one, then it will probably be a little easier to do others in the future."
Because her motion involves reconsidering a decision that was already made by council, Kirkwood-Whyte will need a 2/3 vote in favour of bringing the motion to the floor before it can even be discussed.
If the divestment gets approved, Kirkwood-Whyte said there will still be plenty of time for public consultation for anyone who might be impacted by the closure of the bridge.
"There will be an opportunity to consider alternate solutions," she explained. "That will come back to council for another decision. So it's not done, yet."