An official opening and renaming ceremony is planned more than a year after the Chesley bridge sustained structural damage during flooding.
The newly named Oswald Bridge is located on 1st Avenue or Bruce Road 30 in Chesley.
Major flooding in February of 2018 forced the closure of the bridge. The structure was removed in May. Construction of the new, single-span concrete bridge was completed in December.
The renaming to “Oswald Bridge” recognizes the tradition of community service of the Oswald family.
The celebration gets underway at 11 a.m on Saturday.
The construction of the new bridge required residents and travellers through Chesley to take an alternate route and disrupted business in the downtown.
Several generations of the Oswald family farmed in the Chesley area and served on Municipal Council. Most recently, Ron Oswald served as councillor and mayor of the municipality and councillor as well as warden of Bruce County.
“The opening of the new Oswald Bridge demonstrates the resilience of Bruce County to come together in response to an emergency structural failure of the old bridge,” said Miguel Pelletier, Bruce County’s director of transportation & environmental services. “The construction of the new bridge went exceptionally well and Bruce County would like to extend sincere thanks to the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie and the residents and business owners in Chesley for their patience and support.”
