Either of the new Trail bridge solutions is not going to fly and will take a few years to even accomplish.
Sooo - just renew the cement piers on our beloved Old Bridge. Still just keep it for walking and light traffic. The men with their nice 4x4s can drive around to the Victoria Street Bridge, without complaining I am sure.
An engineer can come up with the best way to handle this. The upper portion of the Old Bridge will last forever. The deck, of course, is renewable every 10 years or whatever. Renewing the piers could be accomplished by the end of this year.
Then we are back on our routine of walking the Old Bridge and shopping in downtown Trail. Several people have told me they do this.
The committee on revitalizing downtown Trail did not address the bridges as an asset.
Regarding crossing the Victoria Street Bridge . . . the traffic on entering Bay Avenue is congested. There are four traffic lights to get through to turn around or find a parking spot. Just a little annoying.
Let’s get a quote going on the piers, input on acceptance and get the job done.
John Carter
Trail