Bruce County officials are moving quickly to begin the replacement of the damaged Chesley Main Street Bridge.
County Engineer Brian Knox says preliminary structural assessments of the 96-year old bridge are suggesting the county move forward with replacement of the bridge as quickly as possible, which is estimated to cost about $3-million.
Knox says the county is investigating whether or not they qualify for emergency funding relief from either the provincial or federal governments. However, he adds it's not financing but rather necessary procedures that may cause the replacement of the bridge to take as long as a year or more to complete.
"We will not, in my opinion, be constrained by funds, we're going to be constrained by moving ahead with designs, approvals, tendering, contractors and construction," says Knox.
Knox says the county will hold a public meeting at the Chesley Community Centre on Thursday, March 8 at 6pm to bring residents up-to-date on the events of last week's rainstorm, as well as the process moving forward to replace the bridge.
"We hope to provide the public with the information we have got to date, and a bunch of options," says Knox. "And hopefully console the public that we're moving ahead quickly with a resolution."
Warden Paul Eagleson, who is also the mayor of Arran-Elderslie, says it's business as usual in downtown Chesley, pointing out the McClure Bridge on Thomas St. is still open to traffic, providing a link from the north end of Chesley to the downtown.
Eagleson says they are trying to look at the positive side of things, pointing out the bridge was due to be replaced soon, so this is a situation they were going to have to deal with sooner rather than later.
"That bridge was scheduled for replacement in 2021, which probably would've been a two-year process, so what were we going to do then? I guess if anything good can come of it, we're going to work very diligently to make it a one-year project and have that bridge in there before the snow flies," says Eagleson.
Eagleson adds he is in preliminary talks with Saugeen Mobility and Regional Transit to set up a shuttle service for north-end Chesley residents who don't have access to a car to be able to make trips to the downtown area.