By Tina Comeau
THE VANGUARD
NovaNewsNow.com
(Posted at 11:20 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9) As Yarmouth County residents continue to cope with flooding, washed out roads, residential evacuations and closed bridges, came the shock Tuesday night that the bridge in Tusket on Route 3 is no more.
The bridge has been washed away and a large span of it is now sitting in the Tusket River. Meanwhile a main traffic artery in Yarmouth County is closed indefinitely.
The provincial Department of Transportation is already having discussions to see if some sort of temporary structure can be brought in, although that will take time.
On the scene Tuesday evening, officials with the Yarmouth office of the Department of Transportation told the Yarmouth Vanguard that the bridge had been closely monitored in the days since Yarmouth received a dumping of more than 200 millimetres of rain in just three-and-a-half days. That’s almost two or three months’ worth of rain.
There was nothing to indicate that the bridge in Tusket was at risk of failure. Had there been, department officials said the bridge would have immediately been closed to traffic.
“We’ve been monitoring it quite closely during the day, and particularly around the periods of high tide when water levels would have been closer to the underside of the bridge, and at no point did the water levels become higher than the top of the abutment,” said department area manager Greg Newell. “There was no indication that there was any problem with it.”
At the time the bridge was swept into the river the water level was about four feet below the bridge. It is suspected a cement support column was dislodged due to the days of rushing flood water coming through.
It was a frantic scene on Tuesday night, with rain pouring down on rescue officials, as they tried to determine if a vehicle had been crossing the bridge when it collapsed in the river and was swept down stream. Spotlights were shone into the river for any indication of a vehicle. While the Vanguard was on scene, the reports were that it did not appear that a vehicle had been on the bridge.
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The situation could have been much dire, however. Two vehicles had approached the bridge not long after it failed. As motorists often did when they approached the single lane span from the opposite sides, both hestitated before moving forward onto the bridge. As one of the vehicles started towards the bridge the cross it the driver noticed a mangled railing and stopped his vehicle. It was then that the driver saw the bridge was gone. They two vehicles formed barricades and called 911.
(Note: You can read driver Paul Sims' account of happening onto the bridge just after it's collapse by clicking here.)
Several fire departments were on the scene and emergency personnel would be remaining on the scene the entire night to ensure vehicles and pedestrians did not get close to the area, as it was deemed too dangerous.
This isn’t the first bridge to collapse since the deluge of rain that Yarmouth County received. A smaller bridge on the Saunders Road in Deerfield crumpled on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 7. Other bridges in Yarmouth County – although not all of them – have been closed to traffic, including the Gavelton Bridge, the Hewett Bridge and the Hurlburt Falls Bridge.
Given that the Tusket bridge gave no advance warning of trouble, Newell is asked whether all bridges in the county should be closed. He said it’s a difficult question.
In some cases closing a bridge would leave residents isolated from the mainland.
But Newell also said the department won’t take any chances. Even bridges that have not failed have been closed as a safety precaution. That was the case on Monday when a bridge on Session Hill in Dayton was closed to traffic over concern of rising water.
“We’re continuing to monitor and any bridges that the water approaches or touches the underside of the bridge, or where we see evidence along the surface of the road that there is a problem, we’ve been closing the bridges immediately,” he said. “So we’ve been very careful and cautious and trying to be very proactive in making decisions about closing structures.”
The department says the situation in Tusket reinforces the fact that people need to heed the warnings when it comes to bridge and road closures.
And, said Newell, people will have to exercise patience when it comes to reopening bridges. Even when the water level starts to drop, the bridges won’t be immediately re-opened.
“We’re going to need people’s patience as we wait for the water levels to drop low enough so we’re able to view the portions of the bridge that have been underwater for several days,” said Newell. “We need to make sure the structural integrity is intact.”
Newell said if a bridge is closed, not only should people not be driving on them, they should not even be walking on them.
Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter is scheduled to view the damaged caused by the rain and flooding when he visits Yarmouth County on Wednesday.
Its only by the hand hand of God taht no one wasy hurt crossing this bridge, its a good reason for the Nova Scotia Department of Highways to be checking these bridges out more regularly for public safety.