Dear Editor:
Residents of 1st Line (14 of 21 households between Wellington Road 19 and Sideroad 15 on both sides of the bridge) want their fellow taxpayers to be aware that the Township of Centre Wellington is preparing to spend an enormous amount of money replacing an unimportant bridge that only recently went out of service.
Just three years ago, the “Cruden” Bridge (24-WG) on the 1st Concession, crossing a small Irvine tributary, was condemned for structural reasons. It is one of many bridges in Wellington County currently closed.
The 1st Line (West Garafraxa) is a gravel, lightly trafficked concession. There are no important industries beyond the bridge closure. Prior to closure, the bridge volume was eight cars per hour. The number of affected houses is seven. Even though the original budget for the bridge in 2018 was $1.7 million, the project budget is now $4.2 million, representing a quarter of the township’s yearly capital budget (2021). This estimate could certainly rise with actual construction.
There are nearby alternate routes, including Highway 6 and the 2nd Line, both of which have greater amounts of traffic and are paved. For this reason, repairing the bridge will not significantly improve emergency response times, often cited as a reason for bridge opening.
A very similar bridge (30-WG), on Sideroad 15 between the 5th and 6th Lines, has been blocked since 2010. The town planners intend to fix that one beginning in 2027, a 17-year wait. It is unusual that 24-WG is being fast-tracked versus this nearby span.
We are not opposed to bridge replacement but feel that spending close to $5 million on a lightly used, inconsequential crossing is profligate and wasteful. No doubt there are local facilities in need that could make far more productive use of this huge sum.
Chris Lund, Diane Wallace, Paul Rappolt, Giselle Maerz, Kelsye Coulter, Paul Hennekens, Aila Hennekens, Ruth Ann Gehweiler, Herb Gehweiler, Thomas Ryans, Dee Ryans, Jody Jagt, Mark Jagt, Vera Kesselev, Serguei Kesselev, Donna Madore, Gord Lunn, Nicole Wright, Jamie Wright, Bob Reeves, Doreen Reeves, Ken Radford, Pat Radford, Charlie Egerdeen, Sharon Egerdeen, Penny Humphries, Bill Humphries, Sarah Anthon, Lylli Anthon, Henrik Anthon,
Centre Wellington