Grand Opening of the West Carleton Interprovincial Snowmobile Bridge
I was pleased to join the West Carleton Snowmobile Trails Association this weekend to celebrate the opening of West Carleton’s interprovincial snowmobile bridge, connecting Ontario to Quebec.
Congratulations to Paul McDonald and the West Carleton snowmobile members on moving this project forward. It’s exciting to have this bridge connecting Quebec trails to our network through the Ottawa Valley. It’s great for snowmobilers and the increased traffic will be great for our local businesses.
Photo by Jake Davies, West Carleton Online
The rehabilitation of the snowmobile bridge over the Ottawa River was funded through the “Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP)-Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Funding Stream”. Funding was received from a number of federal, provincial, regional and municipal government sources, Polaris Industries, as well as West Carleton Snowmobile Trails Association and the Pontiac Snowmobile Drivers Association.
The Government of Canada invested $170,520 in this project through the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream (CCRIS) of the Investing in Canada plan. The Government of Ontario provided $142,086 while the West Carleton Snowmobile Trails Association contributed $113,694.
The project involves the rehabilitation of 0.5 kilometres of an interprovincial rail bridge for snowmobile use that crosses the Ottawa River. The work will include the installation of hardwood decking, rails, and signs to ensure the bridge is compliant with the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs’ bridge guidelines and the Ontario Motorized Snow Vehicle Act.
These improvements will provide a safe alternative to crossing the Ottawa River by snowmobile, connect trail networks in Ontario and Quebec and benefit businesses along the route due to the increase in snowmobile traffic.
All orders of government continue to work together for the people of Ontario to make strategic infrastructure investments in communities across the province when they are needed most.
