The provincial and federal governments are kicking in cash to rebuild a bridge on the 5th Concession North over River Canard.
Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk and Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey joined Amherstburg Mayor Aldo Dicarlo in announcing $4.3 million for three projects in Southwestern Ontario.
MP Irek Kusmierczyk, Amherstburg Mayor Aldo DiCarlo and MPP Bob Bailey on July 22, 2020. (screenshot from Zoom meeting)
Amherstburg's share is $3.4 million for the bridge. The federal government has pledged $1.7 million, while the province will provide $1.1 million. The remaining amount, about $575,000, will come from the municipality.
DiCarlo told BlackburnNews.com the bridge between North Side Road and North Townline is in rough shape.
"Driving over it, you obviously can't see all the corrosion and everything falling off underneath," said DiCarlo. "If it was an immediate concern, it would have already been closed. It is still usable, but if it wasn't fixed in the next couple of years, we would have to make some very difficult decisions."
Those tough decisions could mean raising property taxes to pay for a rebuild.
"On a small municipality budget, you're talking a couple per cent. So, then you have to decide is that going to be the only project we do this year or are taxes going to skyrocket?" DiCarlo explained.
The other option is to close the bridge and redirect traffic, but DiCarlo said it was not an attractive option. He said a lot of Amherstburg drivers use 5th Concession North to get to Disputed Road on their way into Windsor.
He said the engineering work should start next year, and construction will start in 2022.
The other two projects that will benefit from the funding are a widening of Plank Road in Sarnia and a rebuild of a bridge over the Sydenham River in St. Clair Township.