CN will consider 'short-term solutions' for James St. bridge

The owners of the James St. swing bridge linking Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation said they will work on short -term solutions to re-open the bridge to vehicular traffic.

CN Rail representatives made the commitment Friday at a meeting with Thunder Bay mayor Keith Hobbs, Fort William First Nation Chief Georjann Morriseau, city manager Tim Commisso and the city's manager of engineering, Pat Mauro,during a 90-minute meeting at City Hall.

Hobbs said he felt the meeting was productive.

 "I'm very happy with the meeting today.We took the gloves off and it was a meeting without prejudice. We all got our views out there. I was very happy with CN and their commitment today, to look at short-term solutions."

The railway closed the structure to all traffic after a fire in October 2013, but reopened it to rail traffic shortly after the fire.

A CN official said Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation communicated their concerns. 

"Mayor and chief have conveyed clearly the sense of urgency and CN has committed to respond to that urgency. We've agreed to look at short-term solutions," said Olivier Chouc, CN's Vice-President of Corporate Services.

"We are going to ask our engineers if there are ways on a short-term basis to re-open the bridge as long as it can be done safely."

Fort William First Nation Chief Georjann Morriseau said the Friday meeting was the most productive one she's had so far with the railway.

She said long-term options need to be considered, including building a new bridge.

The city, First Nation and CN Rail are scheduled to meet again next month.