The Town of Parry Sound is set to further investigate repairing or replacing the Waubuno Road bridge.
At a meeting on Oct. 20, council unanimously supported the prioritized investigation of repairing and maintaining the original wooden bridge structure, provided such repairs are deemed structurally sound, financially viable and safe by qualified engineers.
This decision follows a 2024 inspection, in which several deficiencies in the bridge were found. At the time it was estimated $350,000 worth of repairs would be needed to extend the bridge’s life.
An ensuing staff report recommended demolishing the bridge. However, council pushed back against this option and later voted in favour of repairing and maintaining the structure.
The project then fell off of council’s radar for several years, before returning on Oct. 20.
The adopted motion, tabled by Coun. Doug McCann and amended by Deputy Mayor Chris McDonald, instructs staff to complete a comprehensive cost benefit and structure safety analysis. It also tasks staff with investigating the viability of formally designating the bridge site under the Ontario Heritage Act, and including the installation of a plaque to honour the rail lines local significance.
The Town’s Director of Public Works, Mike Kearns, says further investigation is required to determine the extent of the needed repairs.
“There is buried timbers that are showing significant degradation. So, some of that has to be uncovered before anybody could ever decide if it is a rehabilitation of portions of the bridge, or a complete replacement of the bridge that’s required with new abutments. So there is a lot of investigative work (required),” said Kearns.
Council has requested staff completed the investigation, along with a comprehensive cost benefit and structural safety analysis, and report back in the first quarter of 2027.
The hope is to have project details, costing and potential timelines ready for 2027 budget deliberations.
