Zainab Al-Mehdar
Mansfield Dec. 16
Recognized as the longest covered bridge in Quebec and the second-longest in Canada, the Félix-Gabriel-Marchand bridge is now officially open and safe to walk or drive over once again. Community memebers gathered for the reopening of the bridge on Dec. 16.
“It’s very exciting for . . .
the people in town to have it back and we’re very excited about that,” said Sandra Armstrong, Mayor of Mansfield.
Locally known as the Red Bridge, named in honour of Félix-Gabriel Marchand, who was the 11th Premier of Quebec, and served in office from 1897 to 1900. He supported forestry and lumbering, and was the first premier to bring hydroelectricity to Quebec and foreign investment, “He was a man ahead of his time,” said Jane Toller Warden of MRC Pontiac.
The bridge was built in 1898, and holds great significance for the community as it bridges the areas of Mansfield and Fort-Coulonge, and allows people to move easily between the two municipalities.
In 2015 community members of Mansfield and Fort-Coulonge rallied for the bridge and through those efforts, Toller, started a petition when she realized nothing was happening to save the bridge, “I really believe in the power of petitions, because it shows how many people are engaged.” She was able to collect about 2000 signatures, and from there André Fortin, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec was able to present it to the National Assembly in late 2017. Around 2018, when he was able to secure funding for the bridge they started on repair efforts and restoration. The bridge was initially closed in 2014.
Fortin said “I understood the importance of the bridge to the community,” when community members rallied around the bridge, which is why he fought for it and his involvement was instrumental.
One of the challenges of restoring a heritage site, highlighted Fortin, is convincing the government of its transportation value and to invest more than they usually would for a bridge that holds heritage value. Not only that but also having to adhere and stick to its original structural needs, “you have to follow every heritage rule and make sure you use the same materials and do it the same way,” said Fortin, and now that it’s finished he added “the bridge is just more structurally sound, [and] just as beautiful as it was when it was first built.”
A project that was estimated to take two years, ended up taking a lot longer, highlighted Toller, due to some hurdles such as Quebec enduring a flood, which resulted in having to raise the bridge about eight inches. On top of that when the pandemic hit, there was a period of time when the workers couldn’t work, it also meant supplies were harder to obtain.
Despite those challenges, Toller said, “over the years, there were many different times where it needed repair work. I’m confident that now that the work has been done properly and well, that it will stand proudly for a long time.”
Economically, Fortin, Toller and Armstrong believe it has the potential to develop into a thriving touristic and economic asset for the community.
The current mayor of Mansfleid, Armstrong said, “I’m just very proud of all the ex-mayors and Mrs.Toller and others for the help they brought to the municipality to get this bridge going.” She hopes that people from all over will come and enjoy this heritage site and enjoy visiting it.
During Toller’s speech she took a moment to thank Raymond Durocher, the former mayor of Fort-Coulonge, as he was the person to announce they had received the funding, and since his passing Toller said “he would have loved to have been here today.”
Standing in front of the bridge, and looking at the people crowding around, Fortin said “I think you can see just in talking to people here, and the smiles on their faces, it was a long time coming for a lot of people and I’m glad we were able to do it before the holidays.
