South Oromocto River No.3 (Bell)

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January 18, 2018

Unbelievable.  It's been torn down already - ripped to shreds without any kind of preservation order to save parts of it as it was being removed to make way for a new emergency structure.  I cannot imagine anywhere else in the Western World, beyond this province, where this would be allowed to happen to significant historic landmarks.  No words.

CBC News Demolition Story, January 17, 2018

CTV News Video, January 18, 2018

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January 14, 2018

It is very sad to have to have the first blog entry of the year to be on the subject of the ruinous flooding this weekend, causing extensive damage to the Bell Bridge.  But that is the state of things in Hoyt as I write this. 

Photo Credit: Catherine Harrop/CBC

Go to the CBC story, or check Debbie McCann's facebook page for a heart breaking video she took.

CBC News Coverage. January 14, 2018

Global News Coverage, January 15, 2018

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September 24, 2015

A day out today to find all four of the bridges in Sunbury County south of Fredericton.  

Hammond River No.2 (French Village)

August, 2017:  The Hammond River No. 2 covered bridge no longer exists.  

August 24th, 2017

Well, it looks like it's all done.  From a posting on the Covered Bridges New Brunswick Facebook page today (https://www.facebook.com/groups/coveredbridgenb/), a member who lives nearby went to capture the destruction on her camera.  

Here is a link to see all Tamara Langstroth Wilson's photographs: Albums re. Destruction of the French Village Covered Bridge.  

I think I would have been in tears had I been able to get there this week. 

The Hammond River No. 2 covered bridge no longer exists.  

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August 9th, 2017

A gorgeous day out, and a picnic by the river with young relations.  There seemed to be a lot of work still going on here, looking more along the line of reinforcement than destruction.  I do not know what's going on now, but will update as and when things are revealed.  Is there still hope?

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August 4th, 2017.  Today's news.  It's a bit like a death in the family:  
Covered bridge across Hammond River to be replaced with modular one.

I'll be heading down for a visit and (it would seem), some last photographs of the bridge next week.  

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July 25th, 2017.  Sad news today.  The bridge is in worse shape than first thought, and it is now closed indefinitely:  Discovery of Wood Rot Forces Closure

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Here are links to the latest CBC news updates on this bridge which was damaged by a heavy excavator that exceeded the weight restriction, and is now closed to all traffic.  The happy news is that the bridge is going to be repaired instead of replaced. (photo credits CBC)

December 9, 2016:   Provincial Dept. of Transportation and Infrastructure news release

December 9, 2016 CBC news release: Hammond River covered bridge repairs will begin in 'immediate future'

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October 21, 2016: Province uncertain over covered bridge's future as repairs continue

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October 6, 2016: Excavator crashes through historic covered bridge, remains stuck

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July 18, 2015

This is a bridge that can be seen clearly from Highway 1, and after passing it many times, I finally stopped to visit it today.   Another idyllic summer day, with anglers and people enjoying the water nearby.  

Irish River No.1 (Vaughan Creek)

June 29, 2017

We had a family outing to the Fundy Trail Parkway today and while the visiting relations explored the caves at St.Martins after lunch, I went back and got some pictures of the bridge.  There was a work crew on site, but the bridge was completely open to traffic.  We didn't know what to expect after the recent news reports of this being the latest bridge in the province to fail inspection (see CBC news link below).  There was a pile of steel beams beside the bridge, that I presume has been brought in to use for repairs.   I will follow the story and add information here as it unfolds.

Of the most interest to me, this was the first time I'd been in St.Martins at low tide, so I scrambled down into the mud to get a few profile photographs of the bridge from the harbor floor.  All eyes of the work crew were on me, as they must have wondered if I was someone official, or perhaps from the media.

By the time we returned from our trip along the Parkway, the tide was high and the road crew had clocked off, and the light was brighter too, so I took a few more pictures.

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CBC news story, June 27, 2017: Much-photographed St. Martins covered bridge fails inspection

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Good news!  Back to full working order - CBC news story July 12, 2017:  Reinforced St. Martins covered bridge able to carry full buses again

March 27th, 2016

My first visit to St. Martins in the off season.

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Pictures from my first visit, around 2010, long before the blog was conceived.