A significant bridge in Brownsburg is now closed, just days after the Mayor of Brownsburg-Chatham denounced its imminent closure.
As of Thursday, December 5, Pont Henri-Raby, which carries rue Principale over Rivière de l’Ouest in Brownsburg, was closed by the Ministère des Transports et Mobilité durable du Québec due to the extremely poor and dangerous condition of the structure. The bridge was built in 1940 and will remain closed to all traffic for an undetermined amount of time. In 2022, the bridge was reduced to one lane with a 15-tonne load limit, and controlled by a traffic light.
According to the ministry, 2,000 vehicles, seven per cent of which were heavy trucks, used the bridge daily.
On November 28, Brownsburg-Chatham Mayor Kévin Maurice sharply criticized the ministry’s plan to close the bridge with no immediate plan to replace it. The bridge is a vital link for residents of Brownsburg and rural areas to the north.
The transportation ministry is posting a two-kilometre detour route following rue des Érables and rue Saint-Joseph.
The municipality has been requesting the ministry to take action on repairing or replacing the bridge for 10 years. A December 5 press release from the ministry said the department is working closely with its partners to promote the progress of the project to build a new structure, but it is still too early to specify a timeline.
