LITTLE CURRENT—Following two significant mechanical malfunctions in recent weeks, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) closed the Little Current swing bridge to marine traffic for 28 hours from Thursday, August 15 to Friday, August 16. A breakdown in the swinging mechanism also caused the bridge to be closed to vehicular traffic for some time Thursday and Friday which saw huge backups of traffic down both Highways 6 and 540 at Little Current and Highway 6 north of the bridge.
The most recent breakdown also caused Bay Estates resident Tony Ferro to pen a petition on Change.org, specifically to Ontario Premier Doug For and Canada’s Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez.
“Dear Premier Ford, We, the undersigned residents and supporters of Manitoulin Island, are writing to express our urgent concern regarding the deteriorating condition of the historic Manitoulin Island Swing Bridge, which serves as the only link between Manitoulin Island and Highway 6, which ultimately turns into the Trans-Canada Highway 17 connecting Manitoulin Island residents to the rest of the north and beyond,” the petition begins.”
“In the past six months alone there have been consistent mechanical breakdowns during which the bridge could not function and thereby making it impossible to access or leave Manitoulin Island. These breakdowns also limited the ability of boaters to access the North Channel.
“This vital piece of infrastructure has reached a critical point of disrepair, making it increasingly unreliable for residents, emergency services and tourists alike. The effects of this situation extend beyond inconvenience; they pose serious safety risks and threaten the economic stability of our community.”
The petition goes on to site “key concerns” such as safety risks, the impact on vehicles and boat traffic, economic impact, the fact that Manitoulin is home to six First Nation communities and the financial limitations.
“The situation has reached an emergency status that demands immediate attention,” the petition concludes. “We respectfully ask that you take swift action to ensure that Manitoulin Island remains safe and accessible for its residents, including the six Anishinaabe First Nations communities and its tourists.”
As of press time Monday, the petition had garnered almost 700 signatures.
Al MacNevin, mayor of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, expressed his dismay at the municipality being left in the dark by the MTO for the second day in a row. The municipality was also not informed by the MTO about the bridge breakdown on Thursday morning, August 15. He said they received a call from the MTO’s maintenance contractor, Emcon, at 11 am Friday morning.
The mayor said he realizes the bridge being closed to marine traffic was reported on Ontario 511, “but boats don’t monitor 511.”
Roy Eaton, host of the popular Cruisers’ Net VHF radio broadcast, agrees with the mayor. He told The Expositor that there was a great deal of confusion in the boating community about what was happening.
“Having to go all the way around the Island was a major concern,” he said. “Unless you have a really big boat, and with the winds that were forecast…the boaters were really concerned about what they were going to do.”
Mr. Eaton commended Jill Ferguson of Harbor Vue Marina for her efforts offering their services to boaters stranded on the east side of the bridge by offering pumpouts, gas and even rides to Little Current should they need to tie up for provisions.
Boats could be seen anchored in the bay near Harbor Vue Friday night and a large flotilla had been congregating at Heywood Island, according to Mike Cooney who runs the popular Boating Little Current Area Facebook group. About 20 boats held a ‘broken bridge party’ at the popular anchorage.
“There were two camps: those who were concerned and those who just took it all in stride,” Mr. Eaton said.
“The lack of information was the biggest issue,” he added.
He advised boaters to keep their radios tuned to VHF channel 16. The bridge, which monitors channel 14, will give a notice to boaters on 16 when the bridge will be ready to swing should this occur again.
