Does the Manitoulin Island swing bridge need replacing sooner rather than later?

Another politician has added his voice to the call to have the timeline to build a new bridge in Little Current to connect Manitoulin Island to the mainland sped up.

A photo of the iconic Little Current swing bridge that connects Manitoulin Island to the rest of Ontario in May 2024. (CTV News Northern Ontario)

The iconic swing bridge that is currently in place is the only structure currently connecting the island to the rest of Ontario and it is governed by the province.

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Al MacNevin is the mayor of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands.

He said while there have been studies, recommendations and financial commitment from the Ontario government over the years, the process is slow.

MacNevin is calling on the Ministry of Transportation to pick up the pace as there have been numerous instances over the past year alone where the bridge has failed and required repairs, often stalling or halting both motor vehicle and marine traffic.

Al MacNevin, the mayor of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, talks with CTV News in September 2024 via Zoom about the need to speed up replacing the swing bridge in Little Current. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News Northern Ontario)

"Lately, it's been more frequent in terms of failure," said MacNevin.

"We know that the bridge is very old and the minister is aware of that and they meet with us and assure us that the things are moving ahead as planned."

The mayor told CTV News that the average person on Manitoulin Island is getting pretty frustrated with the process – himself included.

"It's very slow," he said.

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Town officials said that engineering designs are still outstanding to even begin to proceed with the next steps.