Keith Hobbs may get legal help to address James St. bridge issues
CN has refused to let the city engineers inspect bridge damage caused by fire last year, mayor says
The approach of the New Year brings no signs the James Street swing bridge will reopen to vehicles anytime soon — and that has Thunder Bay’s mayor considering legal action.
“CN hasn't been a good corporate citizen as far as I'm concerned and they need to step to the table,” Keith Hobbs said.
“They're causing people to take a detour that's very dangerous and it's caused some accidents already. We may have to move this a step further and take some legal action if they drag their feet any longer.”
Hobbs noted the city has asked CN if its own engineers could visit the bridge to assess the damage from the fire last fall, but the railway rejected the request.
“The thing I think that the public don't realize is that ... [CN] won't let us,” Hobbs continued.
He said the refusal was "disturbing" and "suspicious.”
Asked about the possibility of more legal bills for the city, Hobbs said “it's obviously a worry for us.”
‘We've taken a big hit from MPAC, [and] our legal bills are through the roof,” he continued.
“But ... when people make commitments they have to keep those commitments."
Hobbs said CN is being irresponsible.
"Had we owned that bridge, or if Fort William First Nation owned that bridge, it would have been opened for operation a lot sooner. Unfortunately, when you have a big corporation with deep pockets — and they don't really care about this community or Fort William First Nation — we're kind of at their mercy."
A spokesperson for CN could not be reached for comment on this story.
A group of carollers met at the foot of the bridge last week, to try and bring attention to the bridge's closure. Their efforts are seen below.