West Montrose Covered Bridge now open to horse and buggy traffic
Waterloo Region – Horse and buggy traffic can now cross the West Montrose Covered Bridge, along with pedestrians. The historic structure remains closed to motorized traffic.
The bridge was closed in September to all but pedestrians when a floor beam that supports a portion of the bridge deck failed, likely due to overloading by heavy vehicles, despite weight restrictive signage.
The beam has now been fixed, and safety experts have determined that horse and buggy traffic proceeding at a walking pace can now safely use the bridge.
“We will be holding a public meeting in January to discuss next steps and long-term options for the future operations of the bridge,” said Tom Reitz, the Region’s Manager/Curator of the Waterloo Region Museum. “While we think it is important to maintain access for horse and buggy and pedestrians, we ask the public to please refrain from trying to use the bridge with any other motorized vehicles as we work to protect this highly important and functioning heritage resource in our community.”
The barriers at each end of the bridge have been rearranged and volunteers from the Old Order Mennonite community worked with Regional staff to ensure their placement allow access to a single-horse with buggy and a two-horse team with buggy, but still prevent motorized vehicles from crossing. Warning signs at the bridge and on roads approaching the bridge are being changed to notify approaching traffic.
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For more information, please contact Tom Reitz, Manager/Curator of the Waterloo Region Museum at 519-748-1914 or treitz@regionofwaterloo.ca.