(Photo: Courtesy of Ritchie Boyd)
The causeway gates closed permanently on Tuesday as part of the construction of the new Petitcodiac River Bridge linking Moncton and Riverview.
Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson Michael Pauley said the river channel will eventually take shape under the new bridge.
“You will also see the accretion of silt material in front of and behind the gates structure and it should fill in over time to be naturally created in the salt marsh.”
Pauley said the closure of the gates will have little if any impact on the passage of fish and other aquatic species.
“That means the river will be realigned under the new bridge so the fish will still have passage – unimpeded passage – under the bridge.”
In an effort to restore the river, the causeway gates were opened in 2010 which drained the lake that had formed.
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure anticipates the new bridge will open to traffic in early October.
