Transportation and Infrastructure minister Richard Ames has cancelled a meeting planned with local officials to talk about the prognosis for the Wheaton Covered Bridge on High Marsh Road in Sackville.
Mayor Andrew Black broke the news at Monday’s Tantramar council meeting, telling council that the virtual meeting with himself, MLA Megan Mitton, Ames and deputy minister Rob Taylor was cancelled by DTI just 45 minutes before it was scheduled on Monday.
“MLA Mitton complained before I had a chance to,” said Black, “and the response from the minister’s office was that there was no need for the call, because there was no update at this time for what was going to happen with the Wheaton Covered Bridge.”
CHMA caught up with Megan Mitton on Tuesday, and the MLA said she was beyond disappointed at the last minute cancellation from the minister, but was maintaining communication with DTI staff tasked with coming up with solutions for the structural issues with the 108-year old bridge.
“This is very important to a lot of different people,” said Mitton, “whether it be farmers who are struggling to do their work with this closure, whether it be just regular folks who are trying to travel around the community, and because of the significance that it has to people in our community.”
Mitton says she pursued the meeting after hearing about the cancellation, but was told the minister will meet when a review is complete. “So I’ve asked them for a timeline,” said Mitton, “and they stopped responding.”
“It’s really, really frustrating,” said Mitton. “They just don’t feel accountable.”
DTI spokesperson Jacob MacDonald responded by email to CHMA’s enquiry about the cancelled meeting and the state of the evaluation of the Wheaton Bridge, which was closed just over two months ago, on July 11, 2024.
“Structural damage identified on the Wheaton Covered Bridge requires a well-planned solution for the structure,” wrote MacDonald on Thursday. The email continued:
“The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) understands the impact of this closure in the area and appreciates the public’s patience while staff identify the best option for the bridge going forward.
A meeting between Minister Richard Ames and local representatives will be rescheduled to allow for complete information to be compiled, ensuring a productive conversation at a later date.”
Mitton said she hoped the meeting with Minister Ames would be an opportunity to ensure that DTI staff understood the significance and impact of the closure, to discuss sources of funding once a solution is identified, and to find out estimated timelines for the process.
“It’s been two months now,” said Mitton, “and the farmers are struggling. I think there’s fields that aren’t going to get harvested because it’s just not going to make sense with the small margins that farmers are working with anyway, and the extra time and fuel and energy that they have to put into to traveling.”
With a provincial election just over five weeks away, Mitton said she was not counting on Richard Ames remaining in his position as minister of DTI. “I’m trying to make sure there’s continuity with the staff,” said Mitton, “to make sure that they understand the needs of Tantramar, even during an election period.”
Mitton says she is gathering information on the types of equipment farmers normally use to cross the Wheaton Bridge, so that a potential solution can accommodate that equipment.
“It’s important to preserve the heritage of Wheaton Covered Bridge, and the farmers need to cross that river,” said Mitton. “And so maybe that can’t be the same structure, but what does that look like?”
Mitton says she’s been told the problem of what to do with the bridge is with the design branch of DTI. “They’re basically laying out all the different options,” she says, which is one of the reasons she’s been looking for specific information from farmers about how they use the bridge.
“This is where DTI, I think, falls down sometimes,” says Mitton. “There needs to be some community consultation. There needs to be meetings with farmers, and meetings with heritage folks, and people in the community to make sure that we’re finding the solutions that work best for what we need.”
Mitton says in her opinion, “closing the bridge permanently is not an option, and that’s what I’m continuing to push for. I know Mayor Black and councillors are as well, and our whole community. The farmers, the Tantramar Heritage Trust and all kinds of folks are speaking up, reaching out to really speak up about how important this is,” said Mitton. “It’s an urgent thing.”
