Coteau Street East Bridge Up For Monday Afternoon Demolition Vote

By Robert Thomas

The coup de grace for the Coteau Street East Bridge may be delivered Monday evening if Council decide to accept Administration’s recommendation for the 110 year old structure.

Administration’s recommendation to Council is for the structure to be closed permanently to not only vehicular traffic but also pedestrian traffic effective December 1, 2023.

Additionally the recommendation calls for Council to authorize Administration to negotiate with the CNR to cost share the demolition of the structure.

The bridge had been operating under weight restrictions allowing light vehicle traffic until May 12, 2023 when with little fanfare it was closed to vehicles and became a pedestrian traffic only structure.

PHOTO OF THE COTEAU STREET EAST BRIDGE HOURS AFTER IT WAS CLOSED TO VEHICLE TRAFFIC ON MAY 12, 2023 - MJ INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTO

The bridge was closed to vehicles after an inspection.

Canadian National (CN) met with City Administration on April 25, 2023 and were agreeable to fund the bridge’s demolition on a 50/50 basis the report heading to Council this coming Monday states.

The demolition of the structure has been a hot button topic for the neighborhood as it is a main thoroughfare to access the Wakamow Valley.

Residents opposed to the closure, but who want to see the bridge repaired or replaced, have appeared at Council and presented a petition by bridge users opposing the structure’s demolition.

Initially the request by residents in September 2021 to save the bridge was denied but a later appearance in November 2022 at Council along with a petition seemed to change Council’s mind allowing the bridge’s demolition.

Built in 1913 the history of the Coteau Street East Bridge and who is ultimately responsible to maintain it and if need be pay for the cost of demolition is clouded in a historical fog and a claimed lack of documentation.

Historical Quirk

It does need to be stated that a successful court action seeking compensation from the Canadian Northern Railway in 1916 points to the reasons why there is a lack of paperwork regarding the railway in Moose Jaw.

The lawsuit states in 1912 that the railway was allowed by council of the day to enter Moose Jaw without being properly voted on, appeals allowed by property owners or a bylaw passed.

“In the early part of 1912, the defendants entered into an agreement with the city for permission to enter the city across certain streets, including among same 11th Avenue. By this agreement, the city undertook to close 11th and certain other streets to be crossed by defendants’ railway, and the company agreed to indemnify the city against all claims for damages by property owners consequent upon the closing of the streets,” the court judgement reads.

The court case involved a development at the time called Wellesley Park which pre-dated the railway.

This appears to be the historical backdrop of the era the Coteau Street East Bridge was built.