The report on why the Nipigon River Bridge failed back in January is now out, and Mike Mantha says it is raising some red flags. The MPP for Algoma-Manitoulin says the Wynne Liberals risked public safety when the bridge was approved.
Mantha says three months before the Nipigon River bridge failed, inspectors discovered a problem with the bearing assembly. This is the part that holds the bridge to the foundation, and is the part that failed. He says the contractors proposed a solution, and the engineers told the Ministry there was a still a problem. But, the province approved it anyway and then didn’t install the parts.
However, the Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca, calls the bridge is a significant investment into northern Ontario, and says safety is the number one priority for the MTO. He says that’s why the province wanted both lanes opened as safely as possible when the bridge malfunctioned.
The MTO’s report on the bridge failure is online, click here to access it.
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Nipigon River Bridge splits apart, closing the Trans Canada Highway