Bridge to get paint job

Ken Johnston

If you thought the delays on the bridge have been bad the last three Saturdays, get ready for delays every day.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) will be erecting traffic lights on the international bridge between Rainy River and Baudette within the next week or so.
Crews were on the bridge last week removing angle support brackets from the bridge so that taller vehicles will be able to cross when the bridge goes single lane in the next two weeks.
MTO Regional Manager Dave McCall said the reason for the closure is regular maintenance of the 40+ year old bridge. “We will be painting the decking from the curb down and the end truss that was hit last year.”
The maintenance will also include some cement work to one of the piers.
“Unfortunately there will be one lane closed once the work begins,” added McCall. He noted that the work is scheduled to last until the end of September.
As for the delays on the bridge McCall said, “We will work on keeping the delays to a minimum.”
In another bridge related issue, the long delays each of the past three Saturdays have prompted calls from Rainy River’s town council to have the second lane opened up at the Rainy River customs facility to help expedite traffic. However, customs officials said that they can not do that as the computer system, known as P.A.L.S., is not set up for the second lane and every vehicle has to go through the computerized system.
Delays have been about one hour at Rainy River, which were about one fourth of the wait at Fort Frances. The delays which have been happening mainly on Saturday are a result of tourists arriving for their vacations at Northwestern Ontario resorts which tend to book from Saturday to Friday.