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“The importance of this bridge has become evident to all of Canada now.”

By Monday morning, one lane of the bridge had reopened after engineers brought in 160 concrete beams, each weighing 2,700 kilograms, to push the upended section of the steel bridge deck back into place, Harvey said.

Still, traffic crawled. For a time drivers either had to take an hours-long detour by crossing into the United States or wait it out at the local community centre or church. Some drivers attempted to use a rural logging road but got stuck in the snow.

It was unclear when the bridge would be fully reopened.

“It was an upsetting phone call to get,” said Michael Gravelle, Ontario’s minister of northern development and mines.

This section of the Trans-Canada Highway is an economic lifeline and the Nipigon River Bridge is supposed to be the region’s infrastructure “crown jewel,” he said.

“There is no alternate route.”

Ashley Littlefield, a resident in nearby Dorion, Ont., said she and her husband were heading eastbound and approaching the bridge on Sunday when part of the bridge deck suddenly jacked up.

“Take your fingers and interlock them flat. And then lift one hand. That’s what it looked like,” she said.

Her six-year-old daughter screamed: “The bridge is breaking!”

While trying to calm her daughter, Littlefield said she honked the horn to alert approaching westbound drivers to the hazard ahead. Her husband also got out and started waving his arms.