Peace River North MLA to meet with minister about Taylor Bridge

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The MLA for Peace River North hopes to soon meet with the minister of transportation and transit to discuss the Taylor Bridge. 

 In the Legislative Assembly of B.C. on April 2nd, MLA Jordan Kealy raised the topic of the replacement of the Taylor Bridge. 

According to Hansard, Kealy asked the B.C. minister of transportation and transit (MOTT), Mike Farnworth, why the government has continued to patch the structurally compromised, declining bridge and if the minister will commit to replacing the Taylor Bridge. 

This comes after the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) submitted a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOI) for inspection reports of the Taylor Bridge dated from June 9th, 2020 to June 9th, 2025.

An opinion piece by ICBA CEO and president Chris Gardner noted issues raised in the bridge inspection reports multiple times, such as cracked floor stringers and material loss on gusset plates. 

In response to Kealy, Farnworth said the ministry knows the Taylor Bridge needs to be replaced. 

“That’s why we’re spending $40 million to date in terms of engineering and project development to do just that,” Farnworth said. 

“Extensive field assessment, structural and environmental, hydrotechnical, utilities, traffic and economic analyses have been completed.” 

Farnworth claimed many tests were done this past summer on key areas to determine where the new bridge would be. 

Kealy told Energeticcity.ca after the session he thinks it’s “ludicrous” the government is contemplating possibly repurposing the bridge. 

He said: “[The bridge] has a very critical lifespan and they have to start working on a replacement bridge while [the current] bridge can still be used temporarily, [while the] other one’s being constructed.” 

He believes if the government puts off building the new bridge too long, the current bridge might collapse. 

According to the B.C. government website, the bridge was built in 1960 as a key link over the Peace River between Fort St. John and Dawson Creek. It is now part of the Alaska Highway, with current traffic volumes standing at approximately 7,500 vehicles per day. 

“We have a lot of traffic that goes through northeastern B.C. over this bridge,” Kealy said. “It’s about time this government focuses on the future for our region and the fact that we keep on contributing to the revenue of this province in a huge way, yet they don’t want to bring anything back.” 

Kealy told Energeticcity.ca he is in the process of scheduling a follow-up meeting with Farnworth to talk more about the Taylor Bridge.