Nine long years after their closure in January of 2016, two small bridges on the Holland-Sydenham Town Line between Grey Road 29 and the 2nd Concession South have finally been replaced and officially reopened. What were known as ‘bridges 21 and 22’ over the course of those nine years, they now also have a new name, the Sydenham Twin Bridges.
An official ribbon cutting and renaming ceremony was held on Saturday, June 14, during which Mayor Ross Kentner noted the long and often frustrating road toward replacing and reopening the bridges.
“We have gathered here today because this is more than a ceremonial ribbon-cutting. This is a celebration of the importance of farming and the value of our agriculture industry. We’re honouring perseverance in the face of adversity. It’s a reflection of the values of rural community, including safety for those towing a heavy load up or down hill, and those riding on school buses when roads are clogged with snow or coated with ice. You, the members of this community are the real heroes of this story,” Mayor Ross Kentner said in his remarks before the ribbon-cutting. “I am speaking on behalf of councillors who have done far more than me to restore this crossing. The bridges were closed fully two years before I became a councillor. Every other councillor can tell you far more about the technologies they explored and the savings achieved than I can. I put most of my energy into trying to bring more stakeholders on board and we all know how that ended.”
The mayor also acknowledged The Meaford Independent for its nine years of coverage of the efforts to replace the bridges.
“I want to go on record thanking Stephen Vance of The Meaford Independent who kept people all across the Municipality of Meaford aware of council’s progress or lack thereof over the months and years we struggled to find a solution. I hope that in the conversations that will follow the formal part of today’s ribbon-cutting, full credit will be given to those who have made it possible to avoid more bridge closures in coming years,” noted Mayor Kentner during his remarks prior to the ribbon-cutting.
Councillor Steve Bartley told The Independent that he was very pleased to see the bridges finally re-opened, and at a cost significantly less than was once anticipated. In 2017 estimates to replace the bridges were as high as $2.5 million, while they were ultimately replaced at an estimated cost of $1,032,820.
“I am very pleased to have changed our direction on bridge closures. During the lengthy process, we researched different ways to build bridges. These bridges were constructed at half the price of a conventional bridge,” Bartley told The Independent. “Talking to the local agricultural community I have learned over 80 trips have crossed over these bridges already this year with large farm implements. Again, I am very happy in the direction the municipality is going.”
While the mayor and members of council are pleased to finally have the bridges replaced and reopened, so are area farmers who rely on the bridges, and have strongly advocated for their re-opening over the past nine years.
“We are pleased and also relieved that the fight for re-opening these bridges is over,” Stephan Tremblay, member and past Chairperson Bognor Bridges & Roads Committee of Ratepayers told The Independent. “We had almost given up hope last year after our attempt at convincing County and the Municipality of Chatsworth to participate. The worst part in all of this is that it took a change of three councils, two mayors, three CAOs, and two treasurers before it was recognized that the wrong decision had been made.”
Tremblay also told The Independent that while the replacement and reopening of the Sydenham Twin Bridges marks progress, the municipality has much more work to do in the rural areas.
“Although this re-opening is progress in the right direction, we still have a number of bridges and roads in a bad state of neglect. There is still much to be done on the infrastructure front, like the much needed resurfacing of Line 11th near Strathnairn, which has not been touched for over 14 years and which is now one of the three worst roads in Meaford,” Tremblay told The Independent. “Also, when one looks at the distribution of the Capital Budget, the vast majority of the spending still takes place in only 40% of the Municipality while 60% of the taxpaying base is outside of the urban boundary. Our municipality and its leaders must work harder at creating ‘one Meaford’. Its rural part still feels alienated from its urban counterpart. A Rural Affairs Committee of Council would help in this regard.”
On January 29, 2016, the Municipality of Meaford implemented the emergency closure of the bridges due to the results of the Ontario Structural Inspection Manual (OSIM) and recommendations from Ainley and Associates Structural Engineers, who prepared the 2016 State of the Infrastructure (SOTI) report for bridges in Meaford.
Though the council of the day had opted to leave the bridges closed permanently, the next term of council, elected in 2018, had a different approach, vowing to keep all bridges open.
Over time came the realization that, being on a boundary road, the bridges were not solely the responsibility of Meaford but also the Township of Chatsworth, and council directed staff to develop a boundary road agreement with Chatsworth.
Boundary road agreements define municipal responsibilities for maintenance of roads shared between two municipalities, and provide for an arbitration process should the two municipalities be unable to come to an agreement for the maintenance or rehabilitation of a boundary road.
After finalizing the boundary road agreement in February of 2020, Meaford wrote to the Township of Chatsworth requesting that their council approve a resolution that would state that structures 21 and 22 should be replaced, and to agree to embark on a new environmental assessment in 2020, with design and construction scheduled for 2021. Chatsworth, however, did not agree.
Chatsworth’s unwillingness to engage in a new environmental assessment and ultimately share in the cost of replacing the bridges had placed Meaford’s council between a rock and a hard place, and staff advised that Meaford’s options were limited.
In June 2021 there was new hope for the fate of the twin bridges after a legal review of the structures indicated that the County of Grey should be responsible for at least one of the two bridges.
The County however rejected any notion that either of the bridges fell under their jurisdiction, and they have remained firm in their position to this day.
After the long and often frustrating road to the replacement of the two bridges, Mayor Kentner expressed thanks to all who were involved in making the replacement of the bridges a reality.
“Today we don’t just reopen a bridge—we strengthen the ties that bring us together as one community. Thank you to everyone who played a role in making this moment possible,” said Mayor Ross Kentner prior to the official reopening and renaming of the bridges.
