(Gananoque, ON – June 4, 2025) The Save Our Train Bridge (SOTB) Committee faced an unexpected loss on June 3 at the meeting of Town Council in Gananoque. The room was packed with people, many of them supporters of the SOTB who got up to ask questions and state their views in support of the historic bridge. Only one person spoke in opposition.

The SOTB has spent many months raising interest and collecting more than 1,000 signatures on a petition to save the bridge in a town of 5,200 people. Highly specialized engineers joined to investigate and support their claim that the bridge can be saved. They even offered to have a full inspection done by these highly qualified specialists free of charge to the community, saying that they would abide by the findings of the engineers.

Council did not approve.

“(T)his isn’t even the original bridge so from a historical lens it is a stock and standard replacement bridge as it sits and crumbles today…,” said Councillor David Osmond in a social media post on November 9, 2024. “…I bet I could get 1,000 to sign a petition to build a new arena and I’d vote against that as well unfortunately. Times are tough and the rules are changing.

“We simply can’t have everything and most things have a life span and this replacement train bridge is at the end of life.”

Engineers Michael Roney and Rocco Cachiotti tell a different story. Roney is a Gananoque resident and professional engineer whose career has been focused almost exclusively on railways. In 2013, he retired as General Manager, Track and Structures and Chief Engineer with Canadian Pacific Railway, where he was responsible for track and structures standards, rail maintenance, bridge design, geotechnical groups and track inspection processes. He is also past president and life member of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association. Cachiotti is an active-duty bridge consultant and ex CNR Bridge Engineer.

“The bridge is not disastrous – it is reparable,” said Cachiotti in a video clip at saveourtrainbridge.ca/our-pedestrian-walking-bridge-needs-help/update-march-31-2025/3/ . “It all depends on what level you wish to repair it.”

They had done an inspection and made a cost estimate for repairs. However, council wasn’t interested in hearing it.

“In early 2024, the majority of council voted to allocate $2,250,000 for the removal of the King Street railroad/pedestrian bridge,” said Mayor John Beddows. “At that time, I put forward an amendment that we should get a repair quote as well as a removal quote to ensure that council would be able to make an informed and balanced decision that reflected an informed understanding of the relative fiscal and value-based merits of removal vs. repair and retention. That motion was voted down, and the request for proposal for the removal option only was approved. 

“We still don’t have the data we would need to weigh the relative merits of the decision. The fact the lowest quote/all-in cost for removal after the RFP process came in at $800,000, or roughly $1,400,000 below what the majority were willing to spend, is not a tax cut or a win. It just means that the majority of Council is spending less in the absence of the data we should have to inform the decision. 

“What we have is the cost of removal, we don’t have an understanding of the cost of repair. The cost of removal came in well below the recommended amount to be set aside for removal that was committed by the majority in 2024. Unknown is whether, and to what degree, the cost of repair might come in below the cost of removal. Without having the ability to compare cost of removal to cost of repair, Council cannot claim to have made an informed decision on whether spending $800,000 for removal is the more cost-effective, and therefore the best, option. This does not strike me as good policy making.”

Roney had prepared a detailed “Submission to Develop Request for Proposals for Rehabilitation of the King St. Pedestrian Bridge” for David Armstrong, Melanie Kirby and Town of Gananoque on January 29. It laid out everything necessary for the repairs and included the costs.

“At last night’s council meeting (June 3), it was clear that the four councillors who voted to tear the bridge down had not read the SOTB submissions,” said Douglas McLellan, SOTB co-founder. “They did not seem to know that SOTB had fully priced the ‘Asset Management Plan’ as per the requirements of the Government of Ontario. Our approach at $600,000 is cheaper than the decision to remove, made by Councillors Leaky, Osmond, Kirkby and Harper, and it’s in black and white on SOTB’s website.”

Those voting in favour of saving the bridge were Mayor Beddows and Councillors Brown and Koiner.

“I find it regrettable that only the mayor and a minority of forward-looking councillors understood the financial, historical, accessibility and touristic aspects of the 60-year life extension that was presented to council,” said Roney.

The loss of the bridge will be felt by residents and tourists alike. It was not just a walkway joining upper and lower town, it was used for purposes such as the Crafts on the River vendor market held there weekly in the summer before the pandemic.

“There’s no tax break and the $800,000 isn’t a saving, it’s just a lower price for a decision which wasn’t founded on data,” said Beddows. “The decision was made, and no quote for repair has been requested by council. The majority were comfortable approving removal without an understanding of the cost of repair to make a comparison between the two and an informed decision.”

“SOTB is very grateful for the show of support at Tuesday’s Council meeting,” said Caroline Yung, SOTB Co-Founder. “Residents spoke about the importance of history and heritage, they questioned the numbers, they raised issues of accessibility. They truly showed they care about our town and want to see it thrive and grow responsibly.”

To learn more about SOTB go to saveourtrainbridge.ca/ .