Beautifying a bridge

A project that is now 30-plus years in the making has almost reached its conclusion in Tantallon. Spearheaded by local entrepreneur Denis Dineen, of Delish Fine Foods, a local group are seeking the revitalization of a rusty train bridge that spans the Hammonds Plains Road that has become an eyesore.

“Three years ago I was in a local coffee shop speaking with a local gentleman, Dennis Pearson,” began Dineen. “Thirty years ago he tried to get a program together to beautify the rusty bridge. This isn’t a three-year project; it’s a 30-year project. He did his best, but it didn’t materialize.

“I look at that bridge every morning and it was something I was quite passionate about,” he said. “Along with Matt Whitman, our local councillor, we decided to do something about it. Consequently, we’ve been working for three years to get to a stage where we can put a mural on the bridge.”

The Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal gave their stamp on the project, and local artist Mary Lynne Mackay donated her time painting a mural for both sides of the bridge — one for a welcome and another for a “Come Back Soon” sign.

Right now the group is in the middle of fundraising for the final costs of the project, which is having a photo of the painting transferred to a material, which will then be mounted to the bridge.

“Everyone has agreed that we can do it, it’s just a matter of raising the funds now,” said Dineen. “I’m a member of the Saint Margaret’s Bay Chamber of Commerce, so this is part of a bigger project to beautify the area. Last year we put some trees in, a bench, and other things like that. So we’d like to get the rusty bridge cleaned up.

“It feels great to be where we’re at, but we’re not there yet,” he said. “It’s going to be dedicated to a lady, Anne Martell. She died a couple of months back. She was involved in a great number of things around the bay, so we felt it was the right thing to do to dedicate the bridge after her. We’re getting closer. The GoFundMe campaign has raised around $5,000 and the Chamber has money set aside. So it’s just a matter of raising the final funds and completing it.”

The group is aiming for completing the project before the spring of 2017.

“We’re quite a unique community — we all help each other,” concluded Dineen. “We want the area to look how we feel it should look. My goal is pretty simple: when Mum and Dad come to the area on holiday, and they drive underneath that bridge, they should think, ‘Wow, that looks really good. We’re nearly there.’ It is the gateway to the South Shore and Peggy’s Cove — and it needs cleaning up.”

Anyone that wishes to contribute to the campaign can find it on GoFundMe at www.gofundme.com/bayrustybridge; or by contacting Dineen directly via Delish Fine Foods.