The walking bridge will connect the west side of the old Highway 59 to the old section of the community.

Council for the Rural Municipality of Ritchot has approved the construction of a foot bridge for the community of Ile des Chenes.

Deputy Mayor Shane Pelletier says residents living on the west side of the old Highway 59 do not have a proper way of getting to the old section of the community.

Pelletier notes this bridge will connect to a central sidewalk running between Notre Dame Bay and Main Street. He says once it is in place, residents will no longer be forced to walk through the ditch.

“Currently, the residents either have to walk to the next street north, or to the next street south and walk on the shoulder there,” he says. “It’s going to be great for the kids who currently have to take the bus from a couple of our residential developments there.”

He notes at some point there will probably be a crosswalk there as well.

According to Pelletier, the bridge will be about 24 feet long. It will be approximately six feet wide, to allow many forms of active transportation to access it. The frame will be metal and the platform will be wood.

Pelletier says the RM of Ritchot will pay for the project. At this point, it is expected to cost around $15,000.

“This year, we budgeted about sixty-five thousand dollars in each community to work on different active transportation projects,” he says.

He notes for Ile des Chenes, getting connectivity for people walking or biking from the west side of old Highway 59 to the rest of town is going to be priority for that this year.

Pelletier is hopeful to have this in place in the next four to six weeks.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he notes. “Looking forward to giving the residents on that side of the old highway, a safer way to get to the old part of town.”