Old bridge may get new life
By Micaela Wylie-Arbic
The historic Prince of Wales Bridge may soon be used as a transit link from Centretown to Gatineau.
City council has given Mayor Jim Watson a mandate to begin formal talks with Gatineau’s mayor about using the bridge to connect Ottawa’s upcoming rail system to our neighbouring city.
The bridge — once an essential interprovincial rail link between Ontario and Quebec, used regularly by trains that brought crushed stone from the Pontiac — would connect the Ottawa core to Gatineau, using the existing Trillium line that runs north to south, on the Ottawa side.
It’s been nearly four decades since any type of train used the bridge and its tracks.
The City of Ottawa purchased the bridge in 2006, with the intent of someday sending traffic across it once again.
The bridge and tracks were found to be in good condition when purchased, while the piers and embankments were in need of some concrete attention, adding up to about $2 million in repairs.
Since then, planners have favoured the east-west LRT line, which is currently under major construction throughout various parts of the city.
Last September, the city spent $46,000 on steel gates and chain link fences to prevent people from trespassing on the weathered bridge after it was deemed to have become “structurally unsound” by Transport Canada.
On March 1, Ottawa’s city council approved stage two of its LRT, which would extend east to west, but not north to Gatineau.
In the run up to approving the light-rail budget a couple weeks ago, Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney, Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury, and Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper approached the mayor’s office with a proposal to help formalize negotiations with the City of Gatineau and achieve an agreement to extend rail service north using the bridge.
“It’s a natural link. It would presumably save riders a fair bit of time if they didn’t have to navigate the congested Ottawa streets,” Leiper said.
Hundreds of Gatineau buses cross the river every morning and evening to get to and from downtown, dealing with heavy vehicle traffic. The bridge extension could potentially alleviate gridlock in Ottawa’s core and make cross-province commutes more convenient.
“I think that those riders would very much appreciate the opportunity to take an LRT,” Leiper said.
Ottawa-Centre MP Catherine McKenna has also been very receptive to a possible LRT extension across the river, said Leiper.
The estimated cost of rehabilitating the bridge is at least $45 million, significantly more than the 2006 estimate, according to David Jeanes, railway advocate, historian and President of Transport Action Canada, the group that collaborated with the city when it was planning the Trillium Line in 1998.
“The city doesn’t have the financial mediums to pay for that,” said Watson. As a result, Watson is expected to collaborate with his Gatineau counterpart, Mayor Maxime Pedneau-Jobin.
“He’s been very supportive of entering discussions,” he said.
on seeing if we can have a more seamless transition across the river between the two cities,” Watson said.
Meanwhile, council is set to start negotiations with the federal government to see if they will support the restoration of the bridge as well as the laying of track to Gatineau.
“In principle, it could be put back in service fairly quickly,” Jeanes said. “It’s not as complicated as other projects. The railway line across the bridge has not been abandoned and the bridge is already there.”
However, Watson cautioned these things are never simple.
“Every time you cross a border, more people get involved,” he said.
In addition to rail service, McKenney and Leiper are pushing for pedestrian and cycling pathways to be incorporated along the bridge.
“It’s a very exciting prospect,” Watson said. “It would reduce a lot of STO buses to our downtown core from Quebec if we have more people hop onto the train in Gatineau.”