PORT AU PORT EAST, N.L. — The Romaine’s River Bridge is in poor shape and that’s causing concern for communities that rely on it as the only entry and exit point for the Port au Port Peninsula.
Located in Port au Port East, the bridge provides a connection with the rest of the province for about 20 communities, including Point au Mal-Fox Island River, Port au Port West, Lourdes, Cape St. George, Piccadilly and Mainland.
“It’s the one road that goes through,” said Port au Port East Mayor James Cashin, who used just one word to describe it — “horrible.”
A bridge inspection report from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure completed in April of 2020 says the bridge, which was built in 1970, was in poor condition and would need repair within one year.
“Needs repair is an understatement. It needs to be replaced,” said Cashin.
And it is slated to be.
In July 2019, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and its federal counterpart, Infrastructure Canada, announced more than $30 million in joint funding for the replacement of five bridges in the province, including the Romaine’s River Bridge.
These new bridges, says an emailed statement from the department, will be capable of withstanding increased water flows during major weather events and also protect against future flood damage.
Required work following the funding announcement includes engineering design of the new bridges and the department anticipates issuing tenders for the replacement of the bridge either in late 2021 or early 2022.
That’s still a long way off; Cashin said the issue has been ongoing for years that the communities feel like they are getting the runaround.
“No amount of bringing this up and bringing it to government’s attention seems to get action,” he said.
“This isn’t something new. It’s been getting worse and worse and worse. It’s deplorable that so many thousands of people are put in this situation. If that bridge goes out and somebody has a medical emergency, lives are at risk.
“This is not something to fool around with,” he said.
From the bridge inspection report
Substructure
- Severe stress cracking along both abutment walls.
- Scour and severe cracking throughout piers.
- Possible undermining of piers.
- Severe cracking and spalling throughout headwalls.
- Bearings need to be inspected.
- Delamination of concrete wingwalls and abutments.
Superstructure
- Expansion joints damaged, leaking.
- Moderate cracking and spalling along bottom of girders.
- Minor corrosion to exposed reinforcement.
- Staining and severe spalling fascia curb.
- Moderate corrosion to exposed reinforcement.
- Expansion joints paved over.
Deck
- Curb and fascia has severe spalling with exposed reinforcement.
- Delamination underside of deck.
- Damage to handrail and in poor condition.
- No structural rail, rail not connected to end block.
- Concrete deck exposed in some areas due to poor asphalt conditions.
- Minor deck repairs needed (patches).
- Source: Department of Transportation and Infrastructure
The bridge is used every day by heavy equipment, school buses, teachers, health care workers, mail services, the fishing industry and by people who work or need to avail of services located off the peninsula.
“Traffic has to come to a standstill a lot of times just to navigate getting around the potholes... it’s atrocious. Small vehicles, I don’t know how they can get over it.”
Cashin said when the potholes develop, the transportation department fills them in.
“But in two days you’re back in the same situation again.”
“Traffic has to come to a standstill a lot of times just to navigate getting around the potholes... it’s atrocious. Small vehicles, I don’t know how they can get over it.” — James Cashin
The most recent repairs took place on Feb. 19 and the department said more will occur as weather conditions and priorities allow.
That’s not good enough for Cashin, who said that if something happens to the bridge, it will cut off the communities.
“There is no alternate route. You can’t take a detour.”
The geography makes it difficult, but not impossible, to build a new road, but Cashin said the will has to be there.
“If they had the finances to do that, then they’d have the finances to fix the bloody bridge.”
He’s also concerned the condition of the bridge will affect tourism in the area.
The view visitors get of the Romaine’s River Valley is beautiful until they hit the bridge and those potholes that make a vehicle rattle.
“It’s a big turnoff,” Cashin said, adding that you don’t promote tourism by creating a first impression that makes people want to turn around and head back.
Peter Fenwick is the mayor of Cape St. George on the southwestern tip of the peninsula, about 50 kilometres away from Port au Port East. He says Cashin is right about the condition of the bridge.
“It is rough on vehicles going over it.”
Fenwick said the potholes seem to get fixed up every year or so. “But they seem to deteriorate again quite rapidly.
“Most (drivers) are usually swinging over into another lane when they come off the bridge in order to try and keep it from beating up their car.”
He said it’s gotten to the point that vehicles only go five or 10 kilometres per hour over the bridge.
“Because we understand that it’s going to be rough on your car.
“It is a bit of a problem and it would be nice to see a better fix of that. It certainly is our only connection to the rest of the island.”
On Feb. 17, Tony Wakeham, the PC candidate for Stephenville-Port au Port, issued a press release calling for emergency repairs for the bridge. That was two days before the most recent repairs were done.
Update I have just been informed by the Department that there is a mechanical breakdown on the asphalt recycler....
Posted by Tony Wakeham, PC Candidate, Stephenville-Port au Port on Thursday, February 18, 2021
On Thursday, Wakeham said the replacement announced in 2019 is good and people know it will take time before it’s in place, but there are still issues that need to be fixed.
He said the department just can’t wait for a hole to appear and then put down cold-patch because that is a very short-term solution.
“They need to get back out there. They need to stabilize that bridge and the surface of that bridge until such time as the new one is ready to be opened. And that requires a lot more than just simply reacting to a situation or a pothole.
“If you add up all those temporary repairs over the years maybe if we had focused on a solution we might have had enough money saved up by now to do it.”
Wakeham said there several places around the region that require attention, from coastal erosion having an impact in Point au Mal-Fox Island River and Mainland, to a collapsed guardrail in Lower Cove and paving for Cold Brook.
Diane Crocker reports on west coast news. diane.crocker@thewesternstar.com | Twitter: @WS_DianeCrocker
