Due to safety concerns, the Buckland Bridge was closed off to traffic last October. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Infrastructure projects

Funding secured for Buckland Bridge replacement

Jul 13, 2021 | 2:00 PM

Construction of a new bridge in the Rural Municipality (RM) of Buckland is moving forward now that funding has been secured from both the provincial and federal levels of government.

On Tuesday, more than $6.8 million in joint funding was announced for 12 infrastructure projects under the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream (RNIS) of the Investing in Canada program. Specifically, the funding will go towards replacing culverts and bridges across the province that have reached the end of their service life.

The RM of Buckland is receiving $600,000 from the federal government, and over $330,000 from the provincial government. The RM’s portion is roughly $66,700. Reeve Don Fyrk, who has been waiting for months to see the federal portion secured, was happy to see it in black and white.

“I guess with the money in place, it’s full steam ahead,” he said.

The bridge, which is owned by the RM, was closed last October. While the initial plans were to keep it open until construction, mother nature had a different plan. As a result of ice damming the previous spring, the water backed up over the rails causing sizable ice chunks to collide into the bridge compromising the structure further. Council essentially felt it was best for safety purposes just to shut it down.

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Fyrk confirmed the tenders for the bridge replacement project went out last week and the project is in the hands of Associated Engineering. Essentially, the plan consists of replacing the existing timber bridge with a new precast concrete and steel bridge.

“I’m very, very happy and I hope the residents out there will be happy with it too. They’ve been very patient. I have nothing but kudos for them,” Fyrk said.

While no official timeline has been announced for the completion of the bridge replacement, the RM anticipates seeing shovels in the ground sometime this year.

A number of other communities across the northeast and west central regions will benefit from Tuesday’s funding announcement, including a new bridge in the RM of Bjorkdale, the Hilldrop bridge replacement in the RM of Canwood, and culvert replacements in the RMs of Parkdale and Torch River.

“The Government of Saskatchewan’s $2.2 million investment toward these transportation projects will support a more robust rural road network,” Saskatchewan’s Minister of Government Relations, Don McMorris said in a statement. “Once completed, these bridges and culverts will allow for the efficient movement of goods, services and agricultural products in rural Saskatchewan, which will protect local economies recovering from the pandemic.”

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell