Broken Bridge Issue Coming Back To Council

The long saga of the “temporarily closed” 7th Avenue SW Bridge is about to once again be part of a Council meeting.

On Monday evening Council will see a report and a request regarding the repair and or replacement of the bridge which has been closed since 2015 when it was damaged by ice.

Council will hear not only about the potential of opening the west lane of the bridge to traffic as a temporary measure but they will also be hearing how the bridge is integral to a proposed major riverside development.

The issue of a proposed residential development by Carpere Valley Development Corporation on the former lands once containing the Valley View Centre includes a request for access across the presently closed bridge.

Council will hear about the means to access the property and if the bridge is used and replaced - at an estimated cost of $4.2 million - the cost be shared equally with Carpere Valley Development Corporation.

It should be noted in a separate but presently shelved development proposal for the actual river valley by local developer Charles Vanden Broek the 7th Avenue SW Bridge was seen as not open and therefore there would not be a major traffic impact by that development.

The resident’s concerns - which includes the home of one of Carpere’s local negotiator’s (Deb Thorn) - will also be discussed.

At the November 23rd Council meeting Thorn appeared and requested the City open at least the west side lane of the bridge as it was not damaged by ice in 2015.

Thorn is requesting to speak at the meeting about her family’s and the Avery family’s concerns because of the bridge’s lengthy temporary closure.