With the second anniversary of the temporary LaSalle Causeway approaching, Pittsburgh District Coun. Ryan Boehme is urging the federal government to commit to a permanent replacement for the crossing.
Last month, Boehme launched an online petition calling for a clear plan from Ottawa, pointing to the unsustainable costs and ongoing disruptions caused by the current temporary structure.
“Temporary solutions kinda have a way of becoming temporary permanent, which is what we don’t want here,” Boehme said. “We want to have some long-term talks, we want to engage with the feds and really get some traction on this.”
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The temporary modular bridge, which must be physically removed to allow large marine vessels to pass, costs approximately $100,000 each time it is lifted. With 25 planned outages and two unplanned closures last year, Boehme says city staff estimate the setup is costing the federal government around $3 million annually.
The ongoing traffic disruptions are also taking a toll on the local economy.
Marijo Cuerrier, executive director of the Downtown Kingston BIA, said the closures are visibly reducing traffic in the city’s core.
“It affects the businesses, there’s no doubt about it,” Cuerrier said, noting the drop includes both customers and employees who rely on the causeway to commute.
For tourism operators like Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises, the impact of the closures is two-fold.
General manager Eric Ferguson explained that because the company also operates Kingston Trolley Tours, a bridge lift interrupts multiple facets of their business simultaneously.
Ferguson noted that the sightseeing operator has been notified of upcoming federal consultations regarding a permanent solution. While no specific date has been set, they expect to hear more details sometime this year.
