Magog closes the door on a new downtown bridge

Magog’s municipal council has once again closed the door on the construction of a new bridge over the Magog River at the intersection of Principale and Sherbrooke streets.

Councilor Nathalie Pelletier spoke on behalf of the council at the end of last Monday’s public meeting, saying that the estimated bill of six to eight million dollars is the main reason for the decision . She also pointed out that past studies have said that a new bridge would only have a limited impact on congestion in the downtown core.

Pelletier wanted to come back to this issue, because a number of citizens still dream of ,building a bridge at this location and said that after having received the pertinent information, the council was able to make a final decision.

According to Pelletier, public interest in a second bridge dates back to the1960s and 70s. A 1966 study estimated the construction cost at $706,000, but the file remained closed, mainly because of the opening of Belvédère Road, which created another link to the north shore of the river, in 1970.

Pelletier noted a new interest in a second bridge in the early 1990s. At that time, the case was made for a possible improvement in traffic congestion, but a study did not cite a bridge as part of the solution, she says.

In the early 2000s, another study was done that also did not recommend a bridge to alleviate traffic congestion. According to this study, a bridge would have no impact on response time of emergency vehicles.

According to Pelletier, the $706,000 1966 bill is equivalent to $5.1 million today, not including professional fees or taxes.