A Tale of Two Bridges
School children, engineers, cabinet ministers, and other Cape Breton residents will celebrate the completion of two major bridges on Friday, Nov. 14.
Energy Minister Cecil Clarke, representing Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron Russell, will lead Grade 4 students from Boularderie Consolidated School on a ceremonial trip across the newly rebuilt Seal Island Bridge around 10 a.m., following a public celebration at the school.
At 1 p.m., Tourism and Culture Minister Rodney MacDonald and a father-and-daughter team of pipers will lead the student council of Cape Breton Highlands Academy in Belle Cote on a similar trek across the brand new Margaree Harbour bridge, following a public reception at that school.
Together, the two bridges see more than a million vehicle crossings per year.
The Seal Island Bridge, the province's third largest, was rebuilt over the last three years at a cost of $15 million. Opened to traffic in 1961, it spans the Great Bras d'Or Channel between New Harris and Boularderie Centre, in one of Nova Scotia's most demanding highway environments. Forty years of wear and tear from wind, snow, salt spray and traffic necessitated the complete replacement of its road deck and reinforcement of its steel truss work.
The new, $10-million Margaree Harbour bridge is a modern, 270- metre, five-span structure, built of steel box girders on concrete piers. It replaces a 45-year-old wooden bridge that had reached the end of its serviceable life. The new bridge crosses the mouth of the Margaree River, connecting the villages of Margaree Harbour and Belle Cote along the Cabot Trail.
"These are significant and much-needed upgrades to Cape Breton's highway system that will have many positive benefits for the island and for all of Nova Scotia," said Mr. Russell. "It's the kind of investment that supports the economy of the entire island, from Inverness to Sydney."
"By making key investments such as this, we're beginning to address the province's $3.4-billion backlog of needed highway and bridge improvements in Nova Scotia," Mr. Russell said.
The public celebrations will include workers involved in the original construction of the bridges more than 40 years ago. Acclaimed Creignish fiddler Stephanie Wills and the father-and- daughter piping team of Rannie and Jenny Kennedy will take part in the celebrations.
"Margaree Harbour is a favourite stopping place on the Cabot Trail," said Mr. MacDonald. "It was essential that the outdated crossing be replaced with a fitting, modern structure."
"I am particularly proud that local companies carried out almost all the work on the bridges," said Mr. Clarke.
CBCL Ltd. of Halifax and Sydney provided engineering services for the two projects. Allsteel Coatings of Port Hastings was general contractor on the Seal Island project, while Dexter Construction of Bedford carried out the work at Margaree Harbour.
The Department of Transportation and Public Works' highways division manages more than 23,000 kilometres of roads in Nova Scotia. The department maintains an inventory of 3,800 bridges and operates seven provincial ferries. Four district offices are located in Bridgewater, Bedford, Truro and Sydney.