Transit will avoid James Street bridge, some passengers face longer rides

Changes to the city’s transit system will mean a longer ride but more stops for riders of the Neebing and Mission routes.

Starting Sept. 6, Thunder Bay Transit will no longer be going over the James Street Bridge. Buses will travel down Montreal Street to highway 61 to Chippewa Road instead.

"Because it is a very tight bridge it’s causing a lot of wear and tear on our tires," Transit planning analyst Jon Hendel said Friday.

"As well as our rearview mirrors stick out and the girder system that’s there is hitting the mirrors so it’s just safer for our vehicles to be on Chippewa Road."

The change will add about 10 minutes to the route but will have four more stops as a result.

New Nova buses, which have been replacing the city’s older fleet since 1999, are wider than other buses.

While the city used older buses for the Mission and Neebing routes to get over the bridge, now that Nova buses make up nearly 100 per cent of the transit fleet, Hondel said it was time to change the route.

There should be no additional costs he added.

"Because our running times are identical the costs do not change dramatically."
Hendel did not know how much wear and tear from the bridge was costing the city.