The municipality of Tantramar is finally moving ahead with the establishment of a committee to determine the fate of the Wheaton Covered Bridge.
A call was put out on July 24, asking for residents interested in serving on the ad hoc committee to submit a letter outlining their interest and qualifications by August 14. This comes more than six months after a January resolution from council to establish a committee to identify potential funding sources and explore options for the bridge.
Logan Atkinson, past president of the Tantramar Heritage Trust, says while he is certainly happy to see movement from council, he wishes it would have happened sooner.
“ Now is the next best time after a few years ago. So let’s go.”
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For Atkinson, who quickly submitted his name for consideration on the committee, the fight is an important one to preserve the history of the region and the heritage of those who built here before us, and potentially use it to benefit us in the present.
“ The Wheaton Covered Bridge is one of the most obvious examples of the built heritage of Tantramar, and for that it deserves a lot of respect and a lot of thought.”
Atkinson also sees the bridge, along with three properties owned by the Tantramar Heritage Trust—the Campbell Carriage Factory Museum, the Four Corners Cemetery and one of the last barns on the High Marsh Road—as a potential opportunity to draw more folks to the area.
“The Wheaton Covered Bridge could be, if sort of understood and utilized effectively, an exceptionally important piece of our tourism industry here in Tantramar.”
Built in 1916 and named for Thomas Wheaton, who lived in the last house on the road before the bridge, it spans 165 feet across the Tantramar River on High Marsh Road. The bridge remained an important piece of infrastructure for local farmers until its closure in July 2024.
Beyond its economic use, it had long been a favourite location for wedding and prom photos, and many appreciated its quiet presence standing high on the marsh.
Options to consider
Currently, the bridge is the property of the Department of Transportation (DTI). In an email to CHMA, DTI confirmed that the department has no plans to restore the bridge and will instead install a two-lane modular bridge next to the current one, with construction expected to begin in June 2027.
During a special council meeting on June 22, Jon Eppell, Tantramar’s director of engineering and public works, laid out five options to council.
These included: restoring the bridge in its current location for recreational use, which could cost more than $1 million; relocating the bridge to another site, which would likely be even more expensive; salvaging timber from the structure for re-use; constructing a replica of sorts after the current bridge is demolished; or simply leaving it under the ownership of DTI for removal.
While Atkinson respects the research Eppell did in preparing his report, he is concerned Eppell was working from too narrow a set of assumptions. Mainly, that it simply costs too much for the municipality to take on the project when it was not budgeted for.
Atkinson hopes the committee can move beyond just shying away from the potential price tag and that it can approach the problem differently in exploring options.
“ I think we need to sit in a room with the ambition to save the bridge for reasons like those I’ve already mentioned in this conversation, and see what we can do. We cannot give up and let the thing fall into the Tantramar River.”
