Insurance Covers Damage For Maxwell Crossing

After many months of negotiating, the insurance company, TD Bank, will cover the costs for damage to the Maxwell Crossing Covered Bridge.

Local Conservative MLA Curtis Malloch tells Tide News the first appraisal indicated major damage was caused to the bridge after a car accident last January.

Malloch says it took several months for Minister of Transportation Claude Williams to negotiate with the insurance company to come up with a fair settlement.

The total cost to repair and upgrade the bridge is $350,000, with TD Bank covering $310 thousand. The Department of Transportation will cover the remainder for added improvements to the bridge that will increase the bridge's capacity to 15 tonnes.

The Maxwell Crossing Covered Bridge is expected to be opened back up in approximately 14 weeks.

There are only 61 covered bridges left in New Brunswick.

Eastbound Lanes Open This Weekend

Motorists will see some improvement on the Harbour Bridge this weekend in Saint John.

The province letting us know that the eastbound lanes will be open this weekend while the westbound lanes are closed as work continues on the expansion joints.

The Chesley Drive on and off ramps will be closed until the bridge reopens to four-lane traffic in the middle of the month.

Signs will be installed between Tuesday and Friday of next week and you should expect delays during that process.

The Department of Transportation expects all the work to be complete by the end of November.

Pourbaix Speaks To Outlook 2014 In Saint John

TransCanada's Alex Pourbaix visiting the Port City to speak about the proposed Energy East Pipeline.

Pourbaix says they will hiring New Brunswick companies in the first phase for engineering and environmental work.

He says they find in polling people are overwhelmingly support of the project saying Canadians understand that when we have Canadian refineries importing oil from overseas while producers in Alberta are exporting two-thirds of its production...that doesn't make sense for Canada.

Pourbaix expects a good portion of the oil coming from Alberta via the pipeline will be used by the Maritime refineries and those in the Eastern U.S.

City Man Facing Arson Charges In Dever Road Fires

A 40 year old man is facing arson charges in connection with two fires on the Dever road including one last night in Saint John.

Crews responded to a fire at 864 Dever Road just before 5 this morning and on arrival found a back building engulfed in flames.

Fire Chief Kevin Clifford says the building was full of 100 pound propane cylinders which should not be stored inside and the building was very secure making it difficult to get access.

Once they gained access, the fire was so intense they had to take a defensive tact on it. 

The blaze was knocked down and no one was hurt.

The man accused of setting the fire is is court today on charges relating to last night's fire and another fire on the Dever Road on October 22nd.

Roadbuilders Claim The Public Is On Their Side

A new poll released by New Brunswick roadbuilders that shows only 13 per cent of people surveyed agree with the current policy of limiting spending on highway maintenance and 90 per cent say making the roads and highways better should be a government priority. 

The Executive Director of the Roadbuilders Association Tom McGinn tells Tide News if the province doesn't start spending more now to maintain the roads, it will cost a lot more money a few years down the road. 

McGinn is warning there's a danger some roads may eventually have to be closed although he admits there are some people in government who believe there are too many roads in the province which cost money to service. 

The poll was commissioned by the roadbuilders and conducted by Corporate Research Associates.

Cherry Brook Zoo Has 10 Year Plan Mapped Out

Cherry Brook Zoo is looking for 100 thousand dollars in funding from the municipalities that make up the Saint John region. 

It costs 455 thousand dollars a year to run the zoo which raises 355 thousand of that total. Last year, the zoo received 60 thousand dollars from the city and 5 thousand from Rothesay.

Cherry Brook's director of development Lynda Collrin tells Tide News they have an ambitious 10 year plan which includes an expanded primate house for endangered species of monkeys. 

The newest addition to the zoo, a two year old Siberian tiger named Karma will be arriving from Winnipeg in a few days.