FIRE UNDER THE BRIDGE

The north span of the Three Nations Bridge has been closed since 7 ish this evening. I had picked up my granddaughter at the train station this evening and as we were leaving the train station, we could see smoke that was thick and black.

We proceeded to the bridge and turned back when we noticed the traffic at a stand still. I thought that it was the chemical plant near the toll booth and we soon discovered that it was a wooden structure that was near the former Domtar property.

There was an antique 1948 Oldsmobile that belonged to Trenholm Healy's grandfather. The other vehicles included a Harley Davidson pickup truck that belonged to Marvin LaFrance (proprietor of Hum's store) in Snye.

The building was erected in the late 30', early 40's as a salt shed. It was constructed out of BC fir. The building construction was supervised by H. Harold Douglas who was a grandfather to one of the members of the Akwesasne Peoples Fire.

Our main concern is the flow of traffic during an emergency situation such as this one. The Bridge was closed but people that are wanting to go south have been in line for hours. They should be redirected to the larger parking lots in the area. There should be signs to give people time to redirect themselves and stay out of the flow of traffic while waiting for the bridge to reopen.

Several members of the Akwesasne Peoples Fire have had meetings with CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) and the Federal Bridge to discuss our concerns and some solutions to the traffic flow during an emergency. We have even contacted the Minister of Transportation and we were redirected to the Federal Bridge.

It is 11:24 pm and the bridge is still closed!!