Watchdog eases deadline for decision on bridge
Issue on hold until city gets a court ruling in its appeal of agency’s order
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has granted the City of Ottawa an extension to decide the fortunes of the Prince of Wales Bridge.
On Feb. 16, the CTA ordered the city to make a decision by April 30 about whether it would restore the Ottawa River Line — which includes the Prince of Wales Bridge — to functional status within 12 months.
The city appealed the order to the Federal Court of Appeal.
On Friday, the CTA granted the city an extension because the appeal hasn’t yet gone to the court.
In a memo from city clerk and solicitor Rick O’Connor to Mayor Jim Watson, council, and the transit commission on Friday, O’Connor said the CTA has agreed to a 30-day deadline after the court makes its decision, or after the appeal process.
The City of Ottawa bought the bridge from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 2005 for a future rail project.
The city intended to use the bridge as an LRT conduit from a proposed Bayview station to Gatineau’s transit system, but has not made concrete plans for any such project.
In September 2017, the city told the CTA that it could take two years to realign the tracks and to become fully functional.
Construction began in 1880 on the original Prince of Wales Bridge, which was named after Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, who eventually became King Edward VII.
In 1926, the Canadian Pacific Railway spent $750,000 on upgrades to the bridge, which were completed by February 1927.