Old Baxters Mill Bridge to be Replaced

Drivers in the Baxters Harbour area of Kings County will have a new bridge on the Old Baxters Mill Road in 2006.

A detailed inspection of the existing bridge by the Department of Transportation and Public Works has determined that the north section of the bridge is in good condition and has been approved for weights up to 27.5 tonnes. Keeping this one lane in service will allow the bridge to carry school buses, snow plows, and emergency vehicles until work on the new bridge begins.

The bridge is located about one kilometre west of the intersection of Old Baxters Mill Road and Baxters Harbour Road and was built about 75 years ago. A new lane, with its own supports, was added to the north side of the bridge in the 1950s. Transportation and Public Works' engineers met with community representatives at the end of September to discuss the bridge's future. The bridge deck on the north section will be cleaned and repaired and approaches at each end will be upgraded. The original southern section of the bridge will remain closed

"The department has responded quickly to make sure the area will be properly serviced this winter," said Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "The bridge will be monitored frequently during the winter and a contract for a new bridge will be tendered next year."

The Department of Transportation and Public Works' highways division manages more than 23,000 kilometres of roads in Nova Scotia. It maintains 4,100 bridges and operates seven provincial ferries. Staff provide services from district offices in Bridgewater, Bedford, Truro and Sydney.