Niagara Region won't assume control of Forks Road Bridge and won't budget $4 million for its demolition, pier testing and a detailed design for a new bridge.

Last Thursday, 23 regional councillors voted against supporting the Rose City's request to have the now-closed bridge uploaded back to the Region.

Voting in favour was Welland Mayor Frank Campion, Welland Couns. Pat Chiocchio and Leanna Villella, Niagara Falls Coun. Bob Gale, St. Catharines Coun. Laura Ip, Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati and Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele.

Campion was disappointed by the vote and said the city had a very strong case as to why there should be Region participation in demolishing and replacing the bridge in Dain City.

"It functions as a regional bridge and a regional road. It's important to development in Dain City."

Campion said there are at least 40 hectares of industrial land in Dain City waiting to be developed and a second access would be crucial for any business that moved there.

The bridge is also needed to service existing and future residents of Dain City and for residents from across Niagara that used it as an access to not only Welland but Wainfleet and Port Colborne as well.

"They (the Region) may not want to upload it, but they can participate in paying for part of it."

Campion said the bridge should have never been downloaded in the first place.

"It doesn't make any sense."

He said a city report from 2000, when the bridge was downloaded to the city, recommended against taking it on. But, said Campion, who was not on council at the time, it appears the Region downloaded it anyway with no compensation.

"They fixed the bridge to the standards and downloaded it. We feel the bridge was not properly fixed. Even if it was, it was a 70-year-old structure and very expensive to maintain."

A staff report before regional councillors Thursday said the Forks Road Bridge was transferred by St. Lawrence Seaway Authority in an agreement dated Feb. 21, 1994. Approximately $850,000 worth of rehabilitation works were completed on the bridge at the time of transfer to the Region, the report said. Additional rehabilitation was performed by the Region leading up to and prior to the transfer to Welland in 2000.

"The asset was considered to be in good condition at the time of transfer," the report said.

The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic late last October and pedestrian traffic in December due to safety concerns. An engineering firm found the 88-year-old span is deteriorating faster than expected and that it could collapse on itself within the next year to 18 months.

Campion said the Region has the critical mass across its jurisdiction to handle large infrastructure issues like the Forks Road Bridge, whereas Welland does not.

"There's a reason the feds downloaded it to the Region . it was the right place. If they felt otherwise, it would have been given to Welland."

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The mayor said despite Thursday's vote, he's not done with the issue and was planning a meeting with the city's corporate leadership team to discuss options.

Welland, Campion said, will continue to work with provincial and federal ministries in seeking funding.

"I understand we're not alone in having a major project where there is no identified funding. We'll have to find money or hope there's an envelope developed for funding."

Campion believes the motion was lost because Niagara is trying to reduce its budget and spending, and it was counter-intuitive what was being proposed. But he believed there was a way to find money at the Region without it impacting taxpayers.

Having regional staff opposed to taking back the bridge didn't help either, he added.

Welland chief financial officer Steve Zorbas will have a report for city council in the next couple of weeks on ways the city can fund the project, as it was not included in the 2019 city budget.

Nathaniel.Johnson@niagaradailies.com

905-684-7251 | @DaveJTheTrib