A popular trail outside Liverpool will be closed for repairs until the fall.<\/p>\n
The Trestle Trail Bridge will begin a second phase of construction in June to finish repairs begun last summer.<\/p>\n
President of the Queens Rails to Trails Association Brian Hatt says closing the popular trail is short-term pain for long-term gain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s saving the bridge, basically. If we didn\u2019t get on this we may have lost it forever. [It\u2019s a] very important link to a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hatt says once this round of the work is complete the bridge shouldn\u2019t need any major work for ten years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, overall, if we can get everything done this year, then the public will be certainly happy to have it finished and hopefully we\u2019ll stay open for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
J Mason Contracting of Fall River has once again been selected to perform the work after completing the first phase of the project including replacing an abutment and a pier, under time and under budget.<\/p>\n
The bridge reopened in September 2019 after being closed for a good part of the previous five years.<\/p>\n
Hatt says the association is very grateful to the J and W Murphy Foundation who committed to covering half the cost of all the repairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really fortunate to get that support. That helps us with getting other partners involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those partners included the Region of Queens, Province of Nova Scotia and Government of Canada who helped cover the balance of the estimated $1.5 million project.<\/p>\n
Once it has reopened, Hatt says the bridge will form an important link between Halifax and Yarmouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gets everyone through Queens County. This would be for motorized vehicles, ATVs, dirt bikes, bicycles, it\u2019s going to be an important link to get the South Shore connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hatt says Queens County is fortunate to have many trails people can use until the repairs are complete and the bridge reopens sometime in late October.<\/p>\n