The Avery and Thorn families are breathing a sigh of relief now that the Seventh Avenue Southwest bridge has reopened, more than six years after ice damaged the structure and forced its closure.
The City of Moose Jaw officially announced the bridge’s opening on May 12, after contractors finished all work on the structure three days earlier. Harbuilt Construction — which started work on March 2 — installed steel piles and caps so the bridge could handle light vehicles and pedestrians.
It cost $832,032 to rehabilitate the bridge, give it a load rating of 10 tonnes, and extend its life for another decade. Heavy equipment such as fire trucks still has to go through the Valley View Centre (VVC) property, but ambulances and smaller emergency vehicles can use the bridge.
“About time,” chuckled Tim Avery while standing near the bridge. “We had it figured at 2,250 days (for the bridge’s closure). I think it’s great, finally (that it’s open).”
A reopened bridge removes pressure from the family since the Avery children can be transported to school more quickly, he continued. Wife Corinne sometimes made six total trips through VVC since the kids had different schedules.
It now takes the family two minutes to take the children to school instead of 15 minutes through Valley View and up Highway 2, while a school bus can now cross the bridge to pick up the kids.
Both families also now have access to municipal services such as garbage pick-up and snow removal.
Avery estimated that both families took 10,000 trips through VVC during the six years while going to and coming from work. Since it was a roughly five-kilometre round trip, they likely travelled 50,000 kilometres during the past six years.
“I’m happy not to have to do that anymore,” Avery said, adding it was a long fight with city hall to fix the bridge.
During the interview, Coun. Heather Eby and a friend walked past and paused briefly to chat.
“I think it’s fantastic,” she said. “I will put that on my list of accomplishments as a city councillor, for sure.”
Deb Thorn, in a separate interview, agreed that having the bridge open again was exciting.
“We are absolutely thrilled to see the bridge reopened and really excited to see people using it and enjoying the valley,” she said. “It’s just a great day, a great day.”
The thought of not having to go through a locked gate anymore or facing a jail-like chain-link fence removes a large mental burden, she continued. It’s also a relief not to have to fiddle with a locked gate in the winter.
The families appreciate the community’s support since that assistance and backing from city council ensured this problem received attention, Thorn said.
“We just cannot express our appreciation for those councillors who saw that vision for the city,” she remarked, adding construction crews were also great and worked seven days a week.
Thorn joked that both families would grab dynamite and blow up damaging ice chunks when future ice jams happen. However, she noted that the bridge rehabilitation improved its strength so it can withstand such events. She also believes the bridge could function longer than a decade due to this repair.
The past six years have not been easy since the families spent plenty of money on legal challenges against the city, Thorn said. She thought it was unfortunate and frustrating that it took 18 months and required a lawyer to have council address this issue. Yet, a new council with a new view resolved this problem.
“It gives me great hope that other things (infrastructure issues) in the City of Moose Jaw will be dealt with with common sense and some sensitivity to taxpayers … ,” she said. “That piece of infrastructure — the Seventh Avenue bridge — is a critical piece of that whole part of our social environment in Moose Jaw (since it allows residents to access Wakamow Valley). So, I think it’s going to be tremendous.”
