Work to repair the bridges commenced after the 2009 provincial budget allocated $2 million dollars for projects within the T'Railway park.
T'Railway Executive Director Terry Morrison is pleased the work on the bridges is now complete.
"It certainly goes a long way to restore continuity that was obstructed when the bridges were closed," he told the Georgian. "You can't market or operate a trail if its not continuous, so that's a large feature of the trail - that it has over 800 km of continuity. It's a big drawing card."
Speaking to the issue of continuity, Mr. Morrison noted that at the present time there are no plans to repair the old Gut Bridge at Stephenville Crossing - a major connector to the T'Railway. Since it closed, users of the park have used the highway bridge - waiting for automobile traffic to pass. Another major structure needing repair is the Crabbes River Bridge, which fell last year.
"It is being considered, I know, but the major work will be the restoration of the Crabbes River Bridge that collapsed ... so I guess one at a time. These are expensive structures to replace and I think with the Gut Bridge there might be some other options rather than just replace," he said.
"For this year we are certainly happy the Crabbes River Bridge is being worked on. The detour around that one is quite long and it's a crucial structure for that area."
The provincial T'Railway park for recreational vehicles, hikers and cyclists is becoming more popular with visitors to the province each year, according to Morrison. However gauging just how many people pass through the many sections of trail each year remains difficult.
"It's difficult to get an accurate counting unless you've got somebody going from one end to another. It's difficult to gauge the number of people who use it locally unless you have each community counting the people out there," he said. "But it is increasing. I know each year we're getting more and more inquiries by phone and email."
Looking to the T'Railway's future in the province, Mr. Morrison says the hope is that it will be complete in time for the launch of the Trans Canada Trail in 2017, of which it will be a part.
"We want to zero in on that date and get our trail complete by then. For all intents and purposes its there, but there's still a lot of development and work that can go on before we can declare it finished."
Environment and Conservation Minister Charlene Johnson said in a release the province knows the value of the T'Railway for outdoor enthusiasts.
reporter@thegeorgian.ca
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