HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-09-06, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1989. PAGE 5.
Soaring high above the Maitland River in a scenic area south of Auburn, the “new”
Ball’s bridge is nearly ready for its official opening early next month. The bridge will
carry traffic along a new county highway linking Londesboro with Benmiller and
saving a bottle neck caused by the old narrow, though scenic, Ball’s Bridge.
New ‘Ball’s’ bridge saves traffic headaches
BY USA BOONSTOPPEL
Its construction costs hundreds
of thousands but its benefits are
worth millions. The new bridge
constructed on County Road 15 has
improved an awkward transporta
tion route, saved a panoramic area
of country-side and preserved a
piece of Huron County’s heritage.
It all began in 1986 when a study
was conducted by B. M. Ross and
Associates Limited for Huron
County to determine if replacing
Ball’s Bridge, south of Auburn,
over the Maitland River would, be
feasible. There were many reasons
for the initiation of the study.
One of the most important
reasons for the study was to
construct a new bridge that would
be part of a connecting road system
to improve traffic flow. The old
Ball’s Bridge is in a unique
situation because it is located on
the boundary of Colbome, God
erich and Hullett townships. How
ever, the bridge leads into a
winding, curvy road that makes
high speeds potentially dangerous.
“The road, in poor winter condi
tions is impossible to get through,”
said Dennis Merrall, Engineer for
Huron County.
As well, there are two jogs in the
road which slow down the travell
ing process.
The bridge itself can also be a
driving hazard, especially in the
winter. Travelling from the east
(off County Road 6) there is a steep
gradient which can damage vehi
cles travelling at high speeds and
make climbing the hill in slippery
weather virtually impossible. The
other side of the bridge (the west
approach) is considerably lower
than the underside of the bridge
deck revealed the study. This road
is flooded on an average of at least
once a year.
The high water level of the
Maitland River during spring has
also damaged the bridge. “The
underside of Ball’s Bridge has ice
damage to the stringers,” said Mr.
Merrall. The stringers are essential
to the architecture of the bridge
because they keep it from collaps
ing, he explained. Taking a look at
the bridge, the ice damage can be
seen on the stringers which are
bowed inward on one side and
outward on the other with the flow
of the water.
The bridge itself cannot with
stand a heavy load and has a load
restriction of two tonnes. All these
reasons; the curvy road, the jogs
along the route, the winter haz
ards, the steep gradient, the floods
and the low carrying capacity of the
bridge; indicate how awkward a
travel route this bridge and road is.
There are other valuable reasons
for building a new bridge besides
improving the traffic flow from
Londesboro to Benmiller. The
bridge itself has some significant
historical appeal. “Ball’s Bridge is
a pinned, steel truss structure
which is significant from an engin
eering perspective because they
were constructed in a short time
frame,” said Mr. Merrall. He
added that the bridge has only
minor historical significance in a
provincial perspective since there
are still a number of steel truss
Old bridge has
sentimental value
bridges around. The feasibility
study revealed that the Ontario
Ministry of Culture and Recreation
completed a study on the heritage
values of various bridges in Ontario
and the study indicated that there
was some heritage value to Ball’s
Bridge. Mr. Merrall said that many
residents in Huron County wanted
to preserve the old bridge for that
reason.
Yet another significant reason to
build a new bridge with a connec
ting transportation route was the
environment in the Ball’s Bridge
area. If a new bridge wasn’t built
and Ball’s Bridge would have to be
fixed up, the road connected to the
bridge would have to undergo
much transformation which would
invariably destroy the Little Lakes.
The Little Lakes are a series of
Kettle lakes on either side of that
road which are the result of
glacier action said Mr. Merrall.
“They are not a real centre for
wildlife so they aren’t terribly
significant from an environmental
point of view but they have a nice
aesthetic impact,” he said. Many
Sunday drivers journey down this
road to appreciate the beautiful
serenity of this natural phenomen
on.
“If we would have improved the
road, the tight curves would have
to be brought to standard (Huron
County road standards) which
means we would have to take out
the curves and fill in some of the
lakes,” said Mr. Merrall who
revealed that there was some
public opposition to this idea.
Another problem with fixing the
bridge would be the property
damage done to local residences on
the road. Much earth would have to
be dug up and moved with land
scape destructive machinery to
raise the bridge. The bridge would
have to be raised to avoid the
damaging water and ice flows.
For these reasons, the County of
Huron decided to forego the idea of
fixing up the old bridge and its road
system to construct a new route
and new bridge directly south of
Ball’s Bridge. After considering
five sites, Huron decided to con
struct a new bridge that would
connect County Road 15 from
Londesboro to the sideroad leading
into Benmiller. This route would
not only aid the local people but
would also provide a more direct
transportation route for the people
from Stratford and Kitchener who
have cottages in Goderich. It
would also aid the business com
munity who transport goods from
the lake to the cities and vice versa.
Before, these people only had the
two water crossings at Highway 8
and County Road 25. “It was felt
that somewhere between these two
roads was the appropriate place to
construct a new bridge,” revealed
the feasibility study.
As for Ball’s Bridge, it is to be
left the way it is now and it will
remain open as a County bridge for
a maximum of 10 years subject to
the following conditions: the bridge
will not be replaced in case of any
excessive damage or removal by
natural causes; at the end of the 10
year period, the bridge will be
Bridge team
Construction foreman Bob Edgar and Huron County engineer
Dennis Merrall stand on part of the new Ball's Bridge
construction. The steel truss bridge located just south of
Auburn is of some heritage value so nearby residents wanted
the bridge restored.
reviewed once again whether to be
maintained for a further period or
closed and/or removed. This in
formation was stated in the feasi
bility study which explained that
the yearly maintenance and repairs
Continued on page 12