Severed steel beams near demolished covered bridge concern resident

More than half a year after the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure abandoned repair attempts and demolished a covered bridge near French Village, the remains of the beams ominously stick out of the water.

The area is popular with paddlers, and a Smithtown man is concerned about how safe the unmarked beams are.

"The steel beams have been cut off and left in the river, which at the time was probably the way to do it," said Steven Saunders.

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Now that spring is here, he said he's concerned about the boat traffic that will be coming down the river.

Hammond River Bridge No. 2 was severely damaged in October 2016, when an excavator plunged through the decking during a refurbishment project.

When the province flirted with the idea of repairing the bridge, about 21 kilometres northeast of Saint John, it drove several steel beams into the river bed to act as supports.

Five other steel beams had been erected in the river bed prior to that.

Steven Saunders said the water levels on the Hammond River rose last week, obscuring the beams, which he worries are a hazard to paddlers. (Matthew Bingley/CBC)

"The Hammond River rises and falls quite a bit," he said. "It certainly could produce a hazard and could be an accident there."

Saunders said that last week there was a rainfall that quickly obscured the beams.

"If you looked hard, you could see a ripple, but they were only inches below the surface."

Saunders said that with up to 30 canoes in the river on some days, the lack of a marker could tear the bottom out of a boat. He thinks the department should, at the very least, inform the public to prevent an accident.

"There are lots of people that will throw a kayak in, or a canoe upriver, and they aren't aware of the possible hazard downstream," he said.

A government spokesperson said the beams were supposed to be taken out, but weather conditions last year prevented their total removal. (Matthew Bingley/CBC)

In a written statement, a department spokesman said the removal of the remaining steel pilings was delayed last year because of weather conditions. Jeremy Trevors said once water levels permit the remaining steel will be removed.

Trevors did not provide an answer to whether any warnings or markers will be erected in the meantime.

The department was recently fined $80,000 for skirting safety rules during the covered bridge refurbishment, which ultimately resulted in its demise.