Residents worry government is neglecting historic covered bridge in Quebec's Laurentians

Residents of a small regional county municipality in Quebec's Laurentians, north of Montreal, are worried sick about a century-old covered bridge that appears to be on its last legs despite the province's promise to restore it.

The Prud'homme bridge, located in Brébeuf near Mont-Tremblant, has been closed to all traffic, including pedestrians, since 2019 — essentially shutting down what had been a tourist draw for decades.

Built in 1918 over a period of six weeks for roughly $6,000, the vibrantly red-and-white structure is listed as a cultural heritage site by the province.

It was originally named the Armistice bridge to commemorate the end of the First World War, and then renamed Prud'homme bridge in 1957 in honour of Alphonse Prud'homme — a man who volunteered for 40 years, spreading snow inside the bridge in winter to facilitate the passage of sleds.

Although it underwent repairs and was repainted in 1997, it wasn't until 2017 that the municipality began pressuring Quebec's Ministry of Transportation to r restore it, according to Mayor Marc L'Heureux.

After the bridge's emergency closure four years ago, the province appeared to be making little forward progress on reviving the historical treasure, so citizens formed the SOS Prud'homme bridge committee and began leading the fight for restoration.

The initiative seemed to bear fruit within a few months when the provincial government announced stabilization work would take place in 2022 and then the restoration was slated for 2023.

Stabilization work did take place in 2022. It took a week to complete. But the restoration work scheduled for the summer of 2023 never happened.

L'Heureux believes that at the current pace, the restoration may not take place before 2025.

"The preliminary plans will be ready by the end of December, but they will only be presented in the spring," he said.

"From there, they will seek funding and solicit bids, but that's preliminary. In my opinion, if we have a bid by the end of 2024, it would be ideal to start the work in the spring of 2025. But unless there is a quick turnaround, I would be surprised if it happens before 2025."

Residents of Brébeuf celebrated the 105th anniversary of the Prud'homme bridge last November, but the delay in restoration frustrates Réjeanne Prud'homme, who considers herself the bridge's neighbour and guardian.

The bridge is named after her grandfather, and she is the founder of the citizens' committee.

"When we look at the archives of covered bridges in Quebec, some have been swept away," she said.