THUNDER BAY – Court documents reveal an engineering report commissioned by CN Rail suggests fire damage to the James Street Swing Bridge is limited and there are many components of the roadway portion which "pose a serious risk to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians."
That reference was found in a decision made by Superior Court Justice John Fregeau on Wedneday, where he ruled to proceed forward with the city’s application against CN, which will likely lead to a quicker resolution to the dispute which has prevented vehicular traffic from crossing the span for nearly 1,000 days.
The bridge, which is owned by CN, has been closed to vehicular traffic since a blaze engulfed part of the span on Oct. 29, 2013 though rail traffic resumed three days later.
Arguments were heard on Oct. 23, 2015 after the two parties initially filed legal action against the other in February 2015.
An affidavit filed by CN included a report from AECOM Engineering, which was dated April 2014, that Fregeau summarized as suggesting “fire damage was limited” and “consideration should be given to maintaining the current closure of the bridge to vehicle traffic due to the timber deck and stringer members which do not have sufficient capacity for the posted load limit.”
While the bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic, it remains open for pedestrians and cyclists with fences being erected to contain that traffic to the former road lanes.
Both CN and the city tried to negotiate a fix in the aftermath of the closure. The railway made multiple proposals, including having vehicle traffic share the rail bed with trains. All of those offers were rejected by the city.
Fort William First Nation chief Peter Collins said he is hopeful the ruling will mean the connection between his community will be resolved in a quicker manner.
“I just think it’s ridiculous a train can cross and cars can’t,” Collins said. “It’s an issue I would dearly love to resolve in the next short while. It’s a connection for us, it’s a connection for people in the city that come and work in our community every day.”
The bridge closure has resulted in Fort William First Nation losing an immediate access point to their community, the problematic nature of which was seen earlier this week.
A crash on Highway 61 at the Kaministiquia Bridge closed that roadway for a significant amount of time, resulting in delays for emergency services to access Fort William First Nation.
“For us, if there’s a major accident there and shuts down our community, we have to travel,” he said. “It took me 45 minutes to go around the other day to get back into the city. Those issues need to be addressed.”
The city maintains the original 1906 agreement, which is described as a one-and-a-half page, six-paragraph document, compels CN to reopen the bridge to vehicular traffic as part of their commitment to “maintain the bridge in perpetuity.”
CN has countered the historical context of the bridge being designed and built nearly 110 years ago and now damaged perhaps beyond repair relieves them from the obligation.
CN spokesman Patrick Waldron issued a statement on Thursday afternoon to respond to the court decision.
We are reviewing (Wednesday's) ruling, which dealt with a procedural issue, as we consider a possible appeal," the statement reads.
"CN continues to believe it is in the interest of all parties that all the evidence be thoroughly considered, something CN believes its action allows."
For members of the Fort William First Nation community, there’s frustration that their bridge remains closed after more than two years while there was immediate action when the Nipigon River Bridge ran into trouble on Jan. 10, with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation committing to reopen that span to two lanes by the end of February.
“I look at how fast they jumped on the Nipigon bridge when it had an impact on the economy of Canada. Different levels of government showed up there to resolve that issue in a quick manner,” Collins said.
