Greyhound bus service resumes after Nipigon Bridge outage

Commuter bus travel is open once again west of the Sault, after a bridge outage over the Nipigon River caused a temporary disruption, says a Greyhound representative.

Service between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay was cancelled January 10 after an outage on the recently-built Nipigon River Bridge on Highway 17 near Red Rock.

Ontario Provincial Police opened one lane of bridge traffic yesterday after a temporary fix was made to the bridge.

As result, eastbound bus service from Thunder Bay began yesterday — but Greyhound bus travel westbound from the Sault was held off an additional day.

“We delayed some westbound schedules until today to avoid major delays, as it was reported that more than 2,000 trucks were also trying to cross the restricted bridge yesterday,” said Lanesha Gipson, senior communications specialist for Greyhound Lines, Inc.

Ontario NDP Transportation Critic Wayne Gates is calling for an investigation into the cause of the bridge malfunction.

In a news release from the NDP, it was suggested the malfunction was caused by faulty connecting bolts.

Gipson said eastbound service was disrupted for about 24 hours, while westbound service resumed 48 hours after the start of the outage.

“Our eastbound and westbound schedules are traveling today,” said Gipson.

(PHOTO: Phil Darlington for TBT News.)