CN 'out of options' in Thunder Bay swing bridge court fight: Repair work on century-old span expected to begin this summer.

• Date: 01 May 2019
• Author: Ross, Ian

CN Rail expects to begin Repair work this year on a historic swing bridge to reopen the span to vehicle traffic.

The City of Thunder Bay and the railway had been awaiting word if the Supreme Court of Canada would hear the railway's case over a century-old contractual obligation to maintain and keep open the bridge, which connects the city with neighbouring Fort William First Nation.

Both parties were notified that the court win not hear the case.

The CN-owned structure was damaged by fire in October 2013 in an act of vandalism. Within days, the shared-use span was reopened to freight trains but barricaded to vehicles.

Known locally as the James Street Bridge, the more than 100-year-old structure spans the Kaministiquia River, separating the two communities.

The City of Thunder Bay sued the rail carrier to honour a 1906 agreement signed between the then-Town of Fort William and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (which later became nationalized as the Canadian National Railway)...