Essa opening Whiteside bridge
By Richard Blanchard

Essa council has agreed on a date in mid-June to officially open its new E. Ross Whiteside bridge near Nicolston on the 5th Concession.

Township CAO/road superintendent Greg Murphy told council Wednesday night that extreme high water levels in the Nottawasaga River during the the spring melt of snow had delayed work on the bridge by about two weeks.

"The water levels of the river were about as high as they could be," he said.

He added the flooding did show that the new ditches on the 5th worked well with high amounts of water.

"The area around the completed ditches was not affected by the high levels of water," said Murphy.

Council agreed to the mid-June opening date, which will likely be held on a Saturday morning.

The bridge will honour Whiteside, who served as mayor of the township between 1982 and 1985 and farmed north of the bridge for many years.