T'Railway provincial park cut in half after bridge closure

TheT'Railwayprovincial park has been effectively cut in half, aftera central bridge on the trail was condemned and closed last December.

The park encompasses more than 800kilometersof recreational trail, connecting the islandfrom coast to coast.

When an engineering report foundthe Terra Nova bridge, located in the Town of Terra Nova, was in a state of disrepair, the provincial government shut it down, makingit impossible forATV-users,snowmobilersor pedestrians to make their way across the island.

"You can't get from east to west or west to east," said Jamie Warren, president of the NewfoundlandT'Railwayboard of directors.

"I would say it's a major issue in terms of continuity."

Warren saidwith the bridge closure, it's now hard to market the trail as a tourist destination to snowmobile tours.

He said it's also an issue forpeople who own cabins on opposite sides of the bridge and can't access their properties.

Bridge will cost millions to replace

Repairing the bridge will cost roughly half a million dollarsand replacing it outright will cost millions.However,Warren said theT'Railwaycouncil would prefer toreplace the bridgeso that it would have a longerlifespan.

PerryTrimper, provincial minister of environment and conservation, said he's not quite sure howthe government will find the money in the current financial crunch.

"We've got a serious financial problem right now but that's it. We also know this is an important facility," he said.

"We estimate there's about 100 crossings a day on that bridge.It's a very important aspect of life, not just in the Terra Nova area but across the island."

While he is not saying how the province may respond to the issue yet, Trimper is urging the public to stay off the bridge at all times.