Dan Tingley says he wants to save the Hammond River No. 2 covered bridge, keep it functioning, and do it for less than what the the province would spend replacing it with a modular bridge.

But the minister in charge of the bridge says he wants to go with the advice of his departmental engineers.

Bill Fraser, the minister of transportation and infrastructure, won't take Tingley up on his offer.

Earlier this week, Fraser announced wood rot had been discovered during repairs to the 105-year-old covered bridge.

Because of concerns about the structural integrity, work on the bridge was halted. The department is now deciding whether to install a modular bridge next to the covered bridge, or dismantle the old bridge and put a modular one up in its place.

Tingley said the department doesn't have to do either.

"That Hammond River bridge could be preserved," he said.

"Kept right the way it is, and fixed for a fraction of a cost of replacing it and putting in new."

Questions government expertise

Tingley, a senior design engineer at Wood Research and Development/Timber Restoration Services, said engineers working on the bridge likely don't have the expertise his firm has when it comes to repairing timber bridges.

"Good structural engineers don't like to deal with things they don't understand well," Tingley said.

'Good structural engineers don’t like to deal with things they don’t understand,' says Tingley to try to explain why the government won't consider his ideas. (Submitted)

"So they'll quickly move off to steel and concrete alternatives."

Tingley said his firm would use advanced techniques and materials such as Kevlar and carbon to fix the bridge.

While Tingley said the work he's offering would not only save the heritage bridge, it would also be done at a small fraction of the cost and time the province is pitching.

Fraser said at a meeting Tuesday night that the earliest the route would reopen would be 2018.

Hasn't heard from Tingley recently

Tingley said he could do it within six weeks, for about a third of the $1 million in projected repairs the province had previously made.

When asked about the pitch, Fraser said that "Dr. Tingley has not reached out to myself or our department on this bridge, nor has he inspected the bridge."

That's not entirely accurate, according to Tingley.

Following his offer to lend the province a temporary bridge this spring to end a lengthy closure on Route 114, Tingley said he met with Fraser and his staff.

During that meeting, Tingley said, he showed several photos of bridges across the province, including the Hammond River No. 2.

"We showed the photos of that bridge situation in our presentation in May, subsequent to the failure of the bridge with the excavator," he said.

But Fraser said the meeting was never about the Hammond River bridge, and he has to rely on the advice and expertise of his engineers and those in the private sector.

Overtures to media bother Fraser

Fraser says he doesn't like Dan Tingley's pattern of sharing his bridge proposals with the news media. (Brian Chisholm, CBC)

Fraser also took issue with Tingley's approach to the Hammond River bridge and other matters.

"He has a rather unique approach of trying to approach this through the media and through public meetings," said Fraser.

"I would think he would want to deal directly with the people in my department."

At their meeting in May, Fraser said, he became aware of several "discrepancies" with what Tingley had said publicly about fixing the bridge on Route 114.

"He wasn't planning on offering a free bridge," Fraser said. Nor would be be able to do the work in 30 days, as he said to the media, the minister said.

"He's just wrong," said Tingley, who maintained he had indeed intended to offer a free loaner bridge.

"They were talking about it taking two or three months to get back in traffic," said Tingley.

"It was a hardship on the community and I knew could provide a solution."

Will keep talking timber

Fraser's recollection from the meeting that Tingley "wasn't interested in doing business in the province of New Brunswick" was also incorrect, he said.

"In the session, the insinuation was, if I don't stop talking about timber bridges to the outside and go directly to them, then you know, it's going to be hard for me to sell them," said Tingley.

"I said 'basically if I can't talk about timber bridges and the value of timber bridges to the public, then I guess I'm not getting any business in New Brunswick, because I won't be silenced."

When contacted for clarification of Fraser's comments, a department spokesperson responded by email: "Minister Fraser asked me to tell you that it is not his desire to engage in a debate with Mr. Tingley through the media."