You can add the City of Thunder Bay as one of the many who are happy to hear the James Street Swing bridge is reopening to traffic today.
Mayor Bill Mauro says this is great news as it reconnects Thunder Bay and the Fort William First Nation.
Mauro goes on to say they recognize the challenges and frustrations citizens from both communities have faced without this access point.
The bridge has been off-limits to vehicles since it was damaged in the fall of 2013.
Mauro adds Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation can now move forward as more connected communities.
The closure was due to a lengthy legal battle with CN who was ultimately ordered by the courts to uphold its contractual obligation to repair and reopen the bridge to all vehicles under the 1906 Agreement. The bridge repairs required widening of the City’s roadway approaches. This was completed within CN’s construction schedule-timeline so that the bridge could now reopen to traffic. The Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the City in June of 2018 and ordered CN to reopen its bridge and subsequently, the Supreme Court of Canada denied CN’s leave for appeal.
