M.D. council wanted public feedback on the idea of removing the Mooney Creek bridge on the old highway west of Slave Lake and they got it. Whether it made their decision any easier or not is debatable.
Council didn’t make a decision, but obtained some food for thought from two opposing camps on the issue. On one hand there are those regular users who want the road to stay open. On the other are nearby residents sick and tired of cleaning up after a flood. They want the bridge gone, because it acts as a dam during high water.
“We want it ripped out right now,” said one. “People in Widewater don’t see the difference, but we do.”
Council also heard from three or four residents of Widewater and Bayer Road – by letter and in person – who use the back road daily to get to and from Slave Lake. They do it for safety reasons, they said, preferring it to risks posed by heavy traffic on Hwy. 2. They also cited the value of a secondary road for emergency access in the event that Hwy. 2 is closed.
In a report on the state of the bridge, the M.D.’s public works manager George Snider outlined the history of flooding and its cumulative effect on the bridge. It’s well past it’s ‘due date’ Snider said, and any money the M.D. spends on maintaining it is likely a waste, because it would have to either be replaced or removed. The province favours removal, he said; they’ll pay for that, but not replacement.
A new bridge, Snider predicted, would likely cost at least $1.5 million.
One resident suggested classing the road as a farm road and putting in a Bailey bridge, which would presumably be much cheaper. Snider replied that it would still cost a half million to raise the bridge (and road) to the level required by the province, so as to eliminate the damming factor.
Snider urged council to make a decision fairly quickly, because if more maintenance is required, it ought to be included in the 2008 budget. Another flood, he warned, “and we’re probably going to lose the approaches.”
Snider asked, “Can we afford $1.8 million for a road of convenience?” He added that the bridge over Nine Mile Creek in Widewater will be up for replacement fairly soon, “and it’s going to be expensive.”
Snider also said that given the proximity of the road to Hwy. 2, it would be very low on the provincial priority list, if the province were even willing to consider funding the bridge replacement.
Councillor Mike Skrynyk wasn’t willing to write it off altogether. Provincial priorities change, he said. Who knows what they might or might not be willing to pay for in a couple of years.
Skrynyk said he favoured a comprehensive assessment of the state of the bridge, to establish its condition. If the M.D. has to downgrade it to light traffic to extend its life that would be okay with him, and “maybe down the road we could get funding for (a replacement).”
Councillor Debbie Parsons pointed out that any money the M.D. spends on maintenance would be wasted if it turns out (as suspected) that the bridge can’t be saved (or if it floods badly again). Reeve Denny Garratt agreed with that position, asking what difference an assessment would make, except to delay the inevitable. Skrynyk wasn’t willing to concede the point, however, insisting that the M.D. didn’t know for sure provincial funding wouldn’t become available for a new bridge. Let’s get the assessment done, he said. Then at least the M.D. would know for sure if the option of downgrading the road was available.
If not, “then it becomes pretty simple,” he said. Councillor Garry Horton made the motion that the M.D. get an engineer’s assessment of the bridge “right away.” His colleagues voted in favour.
The assessment is expected to cost $5,000 - $7,000.

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