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The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is seeking a contractor to inspect every rural bridge in the province.

That means looking at 1,436 bridges. According to a tendering document posted online, the work will take place over a three-year period. It will cost roughly $500,000 to inspect about 500 bridges each year.

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“We have a lot of bridges in rural Saskatchewan, and a lot of them need repairs,” said SARM president Ray Orb.

Jay Meyer, SARM’s executive director, said the association has provided similar inspection services for years. It now comes through a grant under the new Rural Integrated Roads for Growth program.

Saskatchewan’s rural bridges have raised concerns in recent years. In 2018, a bridge in the Rural Municipality of Clayton fell into a creek just hours after it was opened to traffic. SARM and the Ministry of Highways later commissioned inspections on six bridges with similar designs. In five cases, weight restrictions were imposed for safety reasons.