City of Thunder Bay, Fort William First Nation inspect James St. bridge

After months of waiting, the City of Thunder Bay has finally been granted access to inspect the James Street swing bridge, and a report to council on the state of the structure is in the works.

The CN-owned bridge — which spans the Kaministiquia River and is the most-direct route into Fort William First Nation — has been closed to vehicular traffic since 2013, when it was damaged by fire.

The bridge has remained open to train traffic.

Thunder Bay City Manager Norm Gale said a two-hour inspection by representatives of the city and Fort William First Nation took place on July 7, and a report on the integrity of the bridge is currently being prepared.

"We await the report," Gale said. "Once the report is received, we'll review it and city council will provide direction at that time."

Gale didn't know when the report will be complete, but said it will be presented to council during an in-camera session.

CN ordered to provide access to bridge

The city and CN remain embroiled in a legal battle over who's responsible for repairing the bridge.

In January, a Superior Court judge ordered CN to give the city access to inspect the bridge.

In April, the city said engineers had still not received that access. At that time, the city said it would appeal to the court about the matter.

The July 7 inspection, Gale said, "came out through the normal process of working with CN through the courts, and access was granted."

Gale wouldn't go into specifics about the court proceedings, nor would he say if any conditions were placed on the inspection.

"We continue to work towards a resolution and hopefully a positive outcome that will see the bridge re-opened to traffic," Gale said. "We're pleased that we have inspected the bridge."

Fort William First Nation representatives weren't available for comment on Wednesday.