Broken bridge poses a danger to walking trail users, man says
A Fredericton man says he hopes repairs will come soon for a bridge on the walking trail.
Lloyd Briggs, 85, takes a 3.2-kilometre trek on the trail every day. He said he was shocked last week when he came across a pair of young children who were crawling through a hole in the bridge railing.
"There isn't a thing to stop them from going right into the river," Briggs said as he peered down at the rocks in the Nashwaaksis Stream, behind the Royal Road fire station.
The problem, he said, as he pointed to the bottom of the railing, is that several beams have rotted away, leaving a small gap that kids can wedge through. On the other side, some of the decking planks are missing.
"I saw those kids crawling on their stomachs and (I) said I have to do something."
Briggs said he's contacted the city to tell them to fix it, but he's concerned the work isn't happening fast enough to avert a mishap.
Brian Cochrane, manager of Fredericton's parks and trees division, said the city is aware of the situation at the bridge.
"The railing is rotting, there's no question about that, but the bridge itself is structurally sound," he said.
He said he's also aware of a hole in the pavement on the bridge.
Railing repairs are slated for this summer, Cochrane said. The city has budgeted $7,500 for repairs.
The city leases that stretch of trail from the province, so it would seek a partnership for the bridge repairs.
Reached Tuesday afternoon, Poul Jorgensen, executive director of the New Brunswick Trails Council Inc., couldn't speak to the specifics about that particular bridge.
"We always partner with the city to do bridge repairs, though," he said.
Briggs said he hopes it's done soon.
"If someone fell down there, we wouldn't be visiting them in the hospital."
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