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Norfolk receives funding for causeway bridge rebuild

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Norfolk County will be getting more than $4 million from the federal and provincial governments for the rebuild of the Big Creek Bridge in Long Point.

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The federal government will provide $2.5 million and the province almost $1.7 million for the causeway bridge project as part of the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan. The funding was announced July 6 in Welland. Norfolk’s portion of the causeway project is about $10 million.

“This funding announcement is without a doubt one of the most significant contributions ever made to Norfolk County for one of our most critical pieces of infrastructure,” Norfolk Mayor Kristal Chopp said in a media release. “The challenges associated with reconstructing a bridge through one of Canada’s most ecologically diverse areas, home to a UNESCO designated world biosphere, cannot be understated.”

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Chopp also stressed the importance of the bridge as a critical transportation link.

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“Not only is the causeway bridge the only access point linking the mainland to the homes of hundreds of residents, it also welcomes more than a hundred thousand visitors annually to the Long Point Provincial Park,” she said.

Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett joined his federal and municipal funding partners to make this announcement.

“I’m excited to finally receive federal government approval on the project Ontario nominated last July,” said Barrett in a media release. “The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought instability and uncertainty, but important investments in infrastructure like the one being announced today will kickstart our local economy, attracting jobs to get people back to work.”

The project will see the current structure replaced with a new 34.1 metre, two-lane bridge that will include paved shoulders for pedestrians and cyclists.

“The causeway bridge is not only a crucial link, it’s the only link for locals and visitors alike between the Long Point community and the mainland,” Barrett continued.

In March, Jason Godby, Norfolk’s acting general manager of public works, told council recently there are no guarantees the causeway rebuild will get underway this year.

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