Advocates want to preserve Alexandra Bridge and repurpose it for active transportation

Plans are in the works to tear down the Alexandra Bridge and rebuild it in the next decade; however, some groups are calling on the federal government to consider alternate options for the aging infrastructure.

The government says a new bridge will come with one lane allocated to active transportation and two lanes dedicated to vehicle traffic, with the option to convert those lanes to public transit in the future.

Claude Royer with the Alexandra Bridge Coalition says, "We think that the government is going on the wrong path making it a highway bridge. They're hiring highway engineers to design it, as opposed to (keeping) the iconic bridge that could put the priority on public transportation, and pedestrian and bike traffic."

The interprovincial bridge connects Sussex Drive in Ottawa to Des Allumettières Boulevard in Gatineau. The federal government is planning to demolish the more than 120-year-old structure in 2028 and build a new one by 2032. The Alexandra Bridge Coalition and Heritage Ottawa believe the government should preserve it for its national heritage significance, and repurpose it with environmentally friendly transportation infrastructure.

"Replacing it would cost an immense carbon print, and would not be ecological," says Royer. "The greenest bridge is the one we have, and we can also repurpose it for collective transportation instead of cars. The best green future for the bridge is to have green transportation, have public transportation, have bicycles, (and) have pedestrians to be the priority on the old bridge."

Before the bridge closed last fall, the government said it carried about 40 per cent of all pedestrian traffic between Gatineau and Ottawa. In comparison, the Alexandra Bridge Coalition says only 9 per cent of vehicle traffic travelling between the two provinces used the bridge.

The bridge comes with a proposed $800-million price tag. Royer says, "If you want to build a signature bridge, this will cost twice the amount of money and certainly cannot be justified economically."

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