Newfoundland T'Railway makes urgent appeal for donations

The Newfoundland T'Railway council says it needs help paying for repairs to a crucial bridge, before the snow falls.

The bridge is located in the community of Terra Nova. Last December, an engineering assessment deemed the structure unsafe.

• Repairs coming to Terra Nova T'Railway bridge, but not before summer
• T'Railway provincial park cut in half after bridge closure

It has been closed ever since, effectively cutting the T'Railway in half.

"We didn't think this was going to be an issue," says Jamie Warren, president of the board of directors.

"But I guess it's one of those curve balls you get tossed, that you've got to try and regroup and figure out how you move forward from this point."

I'd hate to see the project not be done for the sake of $45,000.- Jamie Warren

Warren said the results of the engineering assessment left the group with few options.

"We had two options; either to repair or replace it. And the cheaper of the two options is to repair it." Warren told CBC's Central Morning Show.

Looking for more funding

T'Railway users are currently bypassing the bridge by backtracking to the Trans-Canada Highway, then through the community of Terra Nova and back onto the T'Railway again.

"Obviously we have some safety concerns, liability concerns with trying to run that kind of a bypass." said Warren.

"Plus it becomes a negative user experience when people get to a point where they have to backtrack on themselves to continue on through the T'Railway."

The cost of repairs is estimated at $650,000. The province has agreed to fund half the cost, and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is picking up another forty per cent.

But the T'railway council is on the hook for the remaining $65,000.

"We reached out to the Trans-Canada Trail, because we are part of the Trans-Canada Trail, and they weren't able to because we were deemed a 'yellow trail,'" said Warren.

"We have ATVs and walkers on the same trail."

'Save this project'

The council has since secured an additional $20,000 in funding, but is still short $45,000, Warren said.

The group is now soliciting donations from communities along the T'Railway, as well as from businesses and organization that would like to help. The Newfoundland T'Railway is a registered charity, able to issue tax receipts.

Adding urgency to the issue is the fact that work must be completed before winter, or T'Railway users will be stuck with the bypass route until at least the following spring, Warren said.

"We're just trying to find a way to save this project," says Warren.

"I'd hate to see the project not be done for the sake of $45,000, since it's such an important bridge, both to T'Railway and the Town of Terra Nova and surrounding communities."