Engineers checking N.L. portion of Trans-Canada Trail

[CD]

Engineers checking N.L. portion of Trans-Canada Trail for safety deficiencies

18 Feb, 4:25 PM

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Teams of engineers were busy Monday inspecting all bridges and trestles along the Newfoundland portion of the Trans-Canada Trail after Transport Canada warned some of them are so dilapidated they are on the brink of crumbling and pose "an unreasonable life-safety risk."

The provincial government shut down all structures along the 883-kilometre trail from St. John's to Port aux Basques, N.L., last week after Transport Canada found 14 of them hazardous to people traversing the waterways below.

"Many of the structures we looked at clearly have not been maintained," Dan Shea, Transport Canada's navigable waters protection manager, said in a Feb. 11 letter to the province.

"Rust, scour, erosion, structural issues, ice-damaged piers, the problems are numerous with some structures having combinations of several serious problems. Some will likely fall into waterways in the very near future."

Transport Canada has requested the province submit a plan within 30 days outlining how it will repair or remove the deteriorating structures.

The T'Railway Provincial Park mainly follows an old railway bed and is used by thousands of snowmobilers, ATV users, bikers and hikers. It also allows limited commercial trucking use for central Newfoundland's logging industry.

Environment Minister Charlene Johnson said Monday the province doesn't regularly inspect T'Railway Provincial Park, but it does follow up on complaints.

"We have been inspecting when issues arise, and certainly there will be a full inspection of all of them now," she said. "This will be some great information to have as we go forward."

Johnson said she would look into the possibility of the province conducting routine inspections, adding she's confident the structures aren't as shoddy as Transport Canada portrayed them to be.

Jamie Warren, president of the Newfoundland T'Railway Council, said while he agreed with the province's decision to close all of the structures, he would support the province carrying out regularly scheduled inspections.

"Who wouldn't want to see (government) continually looking at that, looking at those bridges as we go through, so it doesn't get to this point again?" Warren said.

"Nobody wants to be out there on bridges that are not safe."

The Newfoundland T'Railway Council is a non-profit organization that helps promote and maintain the province's part of the Trans-Canada Trail, but is not responsible for inspections.

The level and frequency of inspections along the Trans-Canada Trail varies from province to province.

Some tourism operators have complained about the closures, saying they will lose business as a result.

"People have been cancelling reservations because obviously they can't come now, now that the bridges are shut down," Warren said.

Johnson said she is optimistic some of the more frequently used structures can be reopened within a few days.

There are 132 bridges on the trail, including a 283-metre structure spanning the Exploits River.

Just over half of the 18,000-kilometre Trans-Canada Trail is complete.

When finished, it is expected to be the longest of its kind in the world, winding its way through every province and territory.

[. ._]

That's pretty scary, considering HEAVY TRAINS used to cross these bridges only 25 or so years ago.

-istp

[tesox2]

Now they're crossed by drunk skidooers!

[Oil Burner]

My tax dollars are going to rebuild bridges for drunk ski-doers?