Renfrew County is moving ahead on clearing a major roadblock in the way of the Algonquin Trail’s westward expansion.
The county’s recreation trails advisory committee (RTAC), chaired by Deep River Reeve Glenn Doncaster, is recommending the award of a $108,848 contract to Dillon Consulting for engineering services to either replace or repair the former railway bridge at Bissett Creek.
As previously reported, westward expansion of the Algonquin Trail hit an expensive snag in Head, Clara and Maria last year when the county learned it will cost upwards of $2 million to expand the trail past Bissett Creek, owing to the poor condition of the railway bridge there which crosses over Highway 17.
The county acquired the former CP railway corridor in 2016, for the purposes of creating a recreational trail stretching from Smiths Falls in the east to Papineau-Cameron in the west.
But a report from the county operations committee last fall pointed out that “substantial work will be required at the Bissett Creek/Highway 17 overpass in order to continue the Algonquin Trail past this point, as the existing bridge/overpass is in poor condition and is not adequate for trail use in its current condition.”
The county is considering two options to deal with that overpass.
The first is to remove its existing superstructure and piers, rehabilitate the abutments, and replace it with a modular bridge.
The second option is to remove the bridge altogether and then purchase additional property to reroute the trail to a level crossing on Highway 17…
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