Update: Clearview council OKs bid to acquire bridge

On Monday night, councillors approved a motion to open up negotiations with the County of Simcoe to transfer ownership of the Collingwood Street Bridge in Creemore – along with $1.5 million to cover the restoration costs.

The bridge is a single-lane steel-truss structure constructed in 1913.

On Tuesday morning, Clearview’s Deputy Mayor Barry Burton successfully pushed through a motion at county council to postpone a bidding process to replace the bridge until April 28.

The county is currently in the process of accepting bids to build a new, two-lane concrete bridge to replace the existing structure. The deadline for bids was April 16, though Burton’s motion to be presented to county council asks for that deadline to be extended until the end of the month to allow for negotiations between the county and the township.

The county’s budget for the work is $2.5 million, half of which would be drawn from development charges.

On Monday, Clearview councillors heard from several residents who support the township taking ownership of the bridge, including two members of a citizens’ committee struck to lobby for the preservation of the structure.

John Hillier and John Boote told councillors the bridge could be restored to handle heavier vehicles, along with a cantilevered walkway along one side. Hillier said the heritage of the bridge was representative of the brand of both the township, and Creemore.

“It’s part of your brand, and it’s important to do,” said Hillier, who is part of a citizens’ group that rallied to preserve the bridge.

However, not everyone around the council table were willing for the township to take on the additional liability with a guarantee of what the restoration would cost. Ward 4 councillor Shawn Davidson said the exact cost to restore the bridge is largely unknown.

Davidson suggested the county restore the bridge first, then hand it down to the township.

“Once all the work is done, I will put my hand up and accept this bridge to be downloaded to us,” he said. “At the end of the day, the benefit to Clearview Township and its residents is the people of [other municipalities in the county] are paying a portion of fixing this bridge between Creemore and this dead-end road.

“Have [the county] fix it, because if we accept a deal, whatever it is, and everybody is wrong about the number, it’s just us here in Clearview who have to come up with difference, and that is very irresponsible,” he said. “The math does not make sense for the people of Clearview.”

Davidson presented an amendment to Burton’s original motion to ask the county for $1.5 million along with the bridge. A second amendment was also approved that council would ratify an agreement reached with the county.

Councillors Doug Measures, Deborah Bronée, and Robert Walker voted against the motion.

Burton lobbied the previous council a year-and-a-half ago to reconsider its decision to support Simcoe County’s plan to replace the single-lane steel truss structure with a new two-lane bridge crossing the Mad River.

A motion put to council in December 2013 to designate the bridge as a culturally-significant heritage property was defeated.

“What we’re trying to accomplish at the end of the day is to save the bridge, which has been the mandate of the citizens of Creemore. It’s been a four-year battle,” Burton told The Sun prior to Monday’s meeting.

Burton noted he does have a special attachment to the bridge, as he and his wife were married on the bridge several years ago.

“I certainly have an attachment to the bridge, but that said, I still think saving the bridge, saving the historic structure, protecting our heritage is still the right thing to do for Clearview.”