ELORA – It will cost $2 million to replace the Middlebrook Bridge for pedestrian use and $600,000 to remove it.
Council heard the updated figures at its Oct. 30 meeting.
The bridge has been a recurring matter at council.
The Middlebrook Bridge is a shared asset between Centre Wellington and Woolwich townships and in 2020, both councils voted to have it removed as engineering reports identified it as needing extensive work to make it road-worthy again.
The bridge is slated for removal in 2028 at a cost of $600,000.
It has been closed to vehicular traffic for many years but in 2021 barricades went up at the bridge and that’s when many regular users – dog walkers and cyclists mainly – became aware of its pending removal.
A citizen’s group called Save the Middlebrook Bridge formed and delegated to both councils to retain it.
There was some back and forth and the group approached the new Centre Wellington council in 2022, hoping there might be a change of heart.
Council directed staff to confer with staff at Woolwich, who asked GM Blueplan to have another look at the bridge.
That report was presented to Centre Wellington council on Oct. 30. In short, the bridge has continued to deteriorate, and GM Blueplan engineers do not recommend rehabilitation.
Steel stringers that the wood deck rests on have completely failed, and while the west abutment could be repaired and repurposed, the east abutment has vertical cracks, low strength concrete and other previously undocumented repairs, the report states.
BM Blueplan estimates the cost to rebuild a bridge for pedestrian use only would be $2 million.
Managing director of infrastructure Colin Baker said staff will speak with Save the Middlebrook Bridge, share the updated information, and see if anything further can be done, such as fundraising.
Baker said while removal of the bridge remains in the forecast for 2028, “there’s time to consider where to go from here.”
“So we’re not dead on the floor yet,” councillor Lisa MacDonald commented.
Council received the report for information.
