Despite court ruling, city engineers still without access to James Street Swing Bridge

THUNDER BAY – Despite a court ruling last week that city engineers have access to the James Street Swing Bridge, there is no timeline for when an assessment will actually take place.

The bridge, owned by CN Rail, has been closed to vehicular traffic since a fire engulfed part of the structure on Oct. 29, 2013 and has become the subject of contentious legal proceedings between the city of and the railway.

On Jan. 20, Superior Court Justice John Fregeau ruled to proceed forward with the city’s application to interpret the 1906 agreement rather than a civil trial, which is expected to shorten the legal battle. Part of his ruling also allowed the city to have engineers gain access to examine the bridge, something they had not been previously allowed.

City manager Norm Gale said the city and CN are in talks to set up the examination but would not say when engineers could be expected to get a look at the bridge.

“The court ruled the city must work with CN to establish the terms of the engineers assessing the bridge,” he said. “That work has begun and the engineers are not there yet.”

CN closed the bridge to vehicular traffic in the immediate aftermath of the fire, though trains resumed crossing just three days later.

With that access point across the Kaministiquia River closed, vehicular traffic has had to travel between the city and Fort William First Nation through Highway 61 and Chippewa Road, creating a detour of more than 10 minutes compared to when the bridge was open.

The city has maintained it is up to the railway to reopen the bridge to traffic, referencing the 1906 contract between the former Town of Fort William and Grand Trunk Railway, which was inherited by the City of Thunder Bay and CN respectively.

That agreement stated the railway is to maintain the bridge in perpetuity and provide crossing for vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

The railway has argued the bridge has served its lifespan of more than a century and maintenance does not mean replacement.
CN commissioned an engineering report in April 2014 which found fire damage to the bridge was limited but the bridge did not meet current code standards and posed a serious risk to vehicular traffic, recommending the bridge remain closed indefinitely.

Gale declined to comment on the engineering report.