Connor Lalande
Norway Bay June 7, 2023
According to Bristol Mayor Brent Orr, while some damage to the wharf is normal after each winter, it currently has “a few more” sinkholes than usual. Orr says that the municipality has contractors working on the wharf and that damages should be fixed within “a week or two.”
A popular tourist destination in Norway Bay, the wharf boasts panoramic views of the Ottawa River.
According to Outaouais Heritage WebMagazine, the 19th century pier was “southern Bristol’s ferry link across the Ottawa River to Sand Point, Ontario, providing a connection to the transcontinental railway until 1963.” It has been refurbished . . .
many times since its original construction.
President of the Norway Bay Municipal Association, Patrick Bryne, said the wharf is essential for the swimming lessons the organization offers each summer.
Aside from its value for swimming lessons, Bryne described how the wharf is central to the community’s identity.
“It is sort of almost like a community centre,” Bryne said. “On a hot day, it’s nice because you’re not wading through shallow water to try to swim somewhere. You just walk to the end of the pier and jump into some really deep water and have a nice refreshing swim. It’s certainly the centre of the Norway Bay community.”
“The infrastructure is old and deteriorating under the waterline,” Orr said. “We’re going to look into getting an engineering report. Maybe a longer-term fix down the road, but we definitely wanted to get it open for the season.”
“If this becomes the new norm, we’re going to have to really take a different approach on how to manage the wharf. It’s going to be too expensive to keep fixing it every year like this,” Bryne said.
