Bridge Out!

CHATHAM, Ont. — A 63-year-old bridge that passed inspection only two weeks earlier collapsed last week under the weight of a tractor trailer carrying soybeans.

The driver was unhurt.

Still, you might want to avoid the corner of Drake Road and Seventh Line in North Buxton until the structure is rebuilt.

Once police are finished investigating the incident, municipal engineers will review what happened.

Chatham-Kent Essex MPP Pat Hoy told Canadian Press provincial government provides funding for improvements of local bridges, but in the end, the responsibility rests with the municipality.

In 2006, the provincial government, along with the Government of Canada, jointly invested funds for the replacement or rehabilitation of 14 local bridges and culverts in Chatham-Kent within the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund.

Mayor Randy Hope said the municipality is planning to replace the bridge in June.

Falling bridges have been in the news a lot in the last few years. An overpass collapse in Laval, Que. killed five people in 2005. That incident led to a series of reforms and a wave of inspections on provincial bridges and overpasses.

Late last year, the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario declared that the province needs to spend about $2 billion to repair dozens of the province’s aging bridges.

A study released by the group found that no provincial agency is responsible for ensuring the bridges are inspected regularly, let alone properly maintained.