News Story of the Year: The Bridge

It can’t be denied that the replacement of the Collingwood Street Bridge in Creemore was a constant theme this year as an eleventh-hour effort to save the bridge failed and the construction project went ahead.

There was a lot of talk about development at Cashtown Corners, the construction of an apartment building for seniors and solar farms but the action took place over in a quiet corner of the village.

The bridge on the “road to nowhere” was replaced this past fall at a cost of $2.25 million, including about $450,000 to add the ornament on top.

In December of 2013, the council of the day voted against designating the bridge a culturally significant heritage property in a 5-3 split.

Fast forward one year to the fall of 2014 and the election of a new mayor and deputy mayor, two people who were connected to the preservation of the bridge. The bridge was built by Mayor Chris Vanderkruys‘ great grandfather. Creemore’s Barry Burton also rose to fame during the campaign and won the seat of deputy mayor, so in some ways, the bridge changed the face of politics in Clearview Township, and will have a lasting effect on the political landscape.

In April of this year, the newly elected council voted to take ownership of the bridge if they could get enough money from the county to restore it.

“During a two-hour council meeting Monday, April 13 councillors heard six deputations and discussed the fate of the 102-year-old steel bridge,” reported The Echo. “The discussion was prompted by a report tabled by Burton recommending that the township take on the bridge in order to restore it, rather than leave it in the hands of the County of Simcoe. The county has already issued a tender to replace the bridge this summer.”

The township wanted somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1.3 million to cover the costs of the work.

The offer from Simcoe County was $934,000, the amount equivalent to the tax levy portion of the construction and contract administration cost based on acceptance of the recommended tender – what the county tax levy impact for reconstruction would have been if the county had proceeded as planned.

The mayor called an emergency meeting to consider the offer but there wasn’t enough council support around the table to accept the deal, with several council members speaking in opposition and others concerned about how the township would make up the funding shortfall.

Burton said he would have taken the offer but he wouldn’t have supported a tax increase to make up any shortfall in funds needed to restore the bridge. He said he would have looked to grants and reserves and taken up offers of fundraising efforts from people in Creemore.

In May, the county proceeded with plans to replace the bridge and refurbish the old steel trusses, which were placed on the new two-lane concrete structure in November.

Get ready for round two: A bridge south of Purple Hills Lane is rumoured to be replaced next year.