A $5 million truss bridge has been selected in favour of a suspension bridge over the Nanaimo River because of its economic and environmental potential.
Debate went back and forth between directors who supported, and opposed the truss bridge, saying it was ultimately about cost and it didn’t align with the feasibility study conducted in 2014.
Herold Engineering conducted the study in 2014 and later updated it last year, which led RDN staff to recommend a $4 million suspension bridge. However the regional parks and trail committee ultimately decided to recommend a higher-cost truss bridge.
Area A director Jessica Stanley says a truss bridge is more expensive than the original suspension bridge, but providing a multi-purpose bridge would encourage a more active transportation approach and they only get “one shot” at this project.
“We are in a time of active transportation,” she says. “I think it would be a mistake to not make the bridge accessible forms of active transportation, investing in a truss bridge makes sense.
“Suspension bridges aren’t suitable to ride bikes across and certainly not accessible for wheelchairs and other modes of active transportation.”
Stanley says the costs need to justify the means and providing a bridge that can handle several means of transportation could qualify the district for extra funding to offset the $5 million dollar cost.
“If this is an active transportation route and can handle multiple modes of transportation, we are hugely eligible for large amounts of funding,” she says. “Active transportation is the best way to bring money into the region, and this is only suitable if it is a truss bridge.”
Recreation and parks general manager Tom Osborne says building a bridge over the Nanaimo River has been a topic since 1995 and has been delayed because of the complexities surrounding it.
“Complexities have tested the bridge, financially, for 20 years,” he says. “It has been in the budget, and supported, for a long time staff is still working on it to bring it to conclusion.”
Director Mark Swain says his opposition to the project is only based on money and not passing the financial burden on to the residents in the RDN.
“We have to make difficult decisions, but spending the taxpayer’s money this way doesn’t sit well with me,” he says. “I recognize this is what things cost, but we can’t have it all and we have to make that difficult decision.”
The motion to select the truss bridge over the Nanaimo River was passed but directors Erin Hemmens, Vanessa Craig, Swain, Wallace, and Leanne Salter opposed it.
The motion is expected to be presented again on Oct. 24 and if accepted construction could begin in 2025.
