Cayuga bridge construction comes to a stop

Construction of a bridge over the grand river in Cayuga has come to a halt.

The Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) had reportedly issued a stop work — saying the Ministry of Transportation didn’t get permission to replace the 90-year-old bridge.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Zimmer says he’s disappointed with the recent developments — and has appealed to federation chiefs to resolve the matter: “I think it is entirely inappropriate for HDI to be preventing the construction workers from continuing to repair that bridge . I find it particularly disturbing that one of the persons participating — if you will, chasing the construction workers from repairing that bridge — was a member of the law society, Aaron Detlor. That’s just inappropriate.

CHCH News spoke with HDI representative Aaron Detlor by phone this afternoon. He says that workers were ‘asked’ — not ‘forced’ to stop work on the bridge. He also stated that the HDI has been trying to work with the MTO since 2012 to try and resolve issues — but that the MTO has not been cooperative. He also denies the Minister’s statement that he ‘chased’ workers away.

The cost of replacing the Cayuga bridge is estimated at 15 to 20 million dollars.