Sexton still no fan of bridge

Opponent of Confederation Bridge’s construction feels town of Borden-Carleton still being ignored

The passage of time has not tempered Gerard Sexton’s opposition to Prince Edward Island’s fixed link to the mainland - the Confederation Bridge.

The Borden-Carleton resident was a Marine Atlantic ship storekeeper and a vocal opponent to a bridge when the crossing was being debated in the late 1980s.

“It’s there, and there’s nothing I can do about it, but the fact is, I think this community, for one thing, has been treated so badly since that bridge has been built that it is hard for me to sit here and be happy about any aspect of it,” comments Sexton who, in 1987-88 was a member of the “No” side’s ‘Friends of the Island’ campaign.

Sexton laments services for residents are lacking. The town no longer has a doctor or a pharmacy, he said, and he noted seniors cannot access community care-level of housing in Borden-Carleton.

He contends the physical appearance of the town has regressed in the two decades since the ferries departed, and said he feels the federal and provincial governments have let the town down.

He says Gateway Village, collection of tourism shops and services at the foot of the bridge on the P.E.I. side, was supposed to be the province’s responsibility but they “weaseled their way out of it,” and he suggested the property is not being properly maintained.

“You would think they would want this community here looking really, really well for when tourists cross that bridge and come to P.E.I.,” he suggested.

Sexton said the provincial government just keeps making excuses for not cleaning up the fabrication yard used in the bridge’s construction, and added the berms that were supposed to be leveled once the bridge project was completed are still piled.

“We can’t get anyone to recognize how bad it looks.”

Meanwhile, Lowell Huestis of Summerside also counted himself on the “no” side in the Jan. 18, 1988, fixed crossing plebiscite. Now, nearly 30 years later, Huestis says his opinion has changed, admitting he was afraid of the unknown back then.

“We thought it was the wrong thing at the time. Anyway, I see now it’s been a good thing,” he reflected as the bridge’s 20th anniversary neared.

“We cross there now without giving it a thought.

“Whatever change has been made has been good, but, at the time, I was a little bit scared we were going to run into problems.”

Sexton, however, maintains the “Yes” side might not have won the 1988 fixed crossing plebiscite if the federal government had done a better job of providing the province with adequate ferries. He said the two Abegweits and the John Hamilton Grey were very good vessels, but suggested the Vacationland, Holiday Island and Confederation were not suitable for the busy crossing, and tourists and Islanders alike disliked them.

The all-your-eggs-in-one-basket concern he had prior to the start of construction on the bridge is still real, Sexton adds.

“If anything were to happen to that bridge…,” he trails off.

He said traffic issues whenever trucks are restricted are not being addressed, and last year when all traffic was backed up to the highway interchange locally referred to as the “Albany Y” because of an issue at the tollbooths, there was no relief provided to keep local traffic moving.

“It’s there, and there’s nothing I can do about it, but the fact is, I think this community, for one thing, has been treated so badly since that bridge has been built that it is hard for me to sit here and be happy about any aspect of it.” Gerard Sexton