4 years later, frustrated commuters still waiting for Beaver Dam Bridge repair

1 month_ago 22

New Brunswick

For years, travellers on Route 101 successful New Brunswick person recovered themselves waiting for the restoration of a breached crossing they trust connected to get implicit the South Rusagonis River.

Province says span southbound of Fredericton needs replacement, and enactment is simply a portion disconnected yet

Shane Fowler · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 17, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

A changeable of a span reduced to a azygous lane, bookended by postulation lights, spans a shallow river.

For years, travellers on Route 101 successful New Brunswick person recovered themselves waiting for a breached crossing implicit the South Rusagonis River to beryllium brought backmost to size.

Since 2021, erstwhile the state reduced the crossing successful Beaver Dam to 1 lane, commuters betwixt Fredericton and respective communities to the south, including Tracy, Fredericton Junction, Central Blissville and Hoyt, person had to hold their crook astatine a acceptable of timed postulation lights.

"I'm sick of it, bushed of it," said commuter Christina Graves. "It's annoying. How agelong is this going to spell on? It's been excessively long."

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure says the bridge, built in 1937, needs to beryllium replaced.

A pistillate with a achromatic ponytail successful a grey sweatshirt sits successful her car waiting for lights to change.

In the meantime, the section has installed a pre-fabricated, single-lane Bailey span connected apical of the aged span to allow postulation to get crossed the South Rusagonis.

Bailey bridges are impermanent structures, usually brought arsenic fixes aft washouts oregon span damage. But successful this case, the temporary hole has been in spot for much than 4 years, frustrating drivers who beryllium connected the crossing.

"It truly slows down the postulation during the mornings and afternoons," said Chris Knowles, a regular commuter. "And it's a hazard. People don't travel the lights, and there's 2 turns close astatine the extremity of the bridge. It's precise dangerous."

WATCH | A span repair taking acold excessively long:

Beaver Dam Bridge has waited for repairs since 2021 — and motorists person waited with it

It's been years since the Beaver Dam Bridge southbound of Fredericton was reduced to a azygous lane, and commuters are frustrated thing has been done to repair it.

One caller day, respective drivers, including logging truckers, could beryllium observed moving the timed lights connected the bridge.

"I got a summons moving the red," said Zach Vanthournout, a beef husbandman surviving adjacent Fredericton Junction. "First summons successful 43 years."

He said he'd similar to spot the crossing yet restored, but he's not hopeful it volition hap anytime soon.

A metallic beamed span resting overtop a factual operation span overtop of a shallow river.

"Traffic inactive flows, truthful they're going to fto this spell arsenic agelong arsenic they can," Vanthournout said. "That's conscionable my opinion."

And he's close that it won't beryllium reopened to 2 lanes of postulation anytime soon. The state hasn't adjacent enactment the occupation retired to tender yet.

On Monday, CBC News requested an interrogation with idiosyncratic astatine the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure astir wherefore the span work was taking years to complete.

A greenish logging motortruck carrying a load of logs races done a acceptable of reddish lights astatine a bridge.

On Tuesday, spokesperson Jacob MacDonald told CBC News that nary 1 was disposable to talk connected the topic.

On Wednesday, MacDonald sent a connection acknowledging that it volition apt beryllium different twelvemonth earlier the crossing is repaired.

A antheral with a achromatic beard, wearing a bluish T-shirt and shot headdress smiles astatine the camera with a acceptable of reddish lights and a span successful the background.

"The Beaver Dam Bridge connected Route 101 has been included for replacement successful the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure's Long-Term Capital Plan since 2023," MacDonald wrote. "Work for this task is expected to beryllium tendered tin aboriginal 2026, with operation opening aboriginal that year."

The enactment volition see removal of the existing bridge, creating a single-lane detour astatine the site, gathering the caller span wherever the aged 1 was, "and immoderate insignificant improvements to the intersection of Route 101, Smith Road and Whittaker Road, MacDonald said.