The missing link: Skiers frustrated by winter closing of Chief William Commanda Bridge

Unfortunately for snow sports fans, the bridge remains a no-go zone in winter, cordoned off by steel gates and construction fencing.

Published Jan 22, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 3 minute read

Marc Lafortune photographed at the entrance to the Chief William Commanda Bridge in Gatineau. Photo by Jean Levac /POSTMEDIA

Marc Lafortune looks across the Chief William Commanda Bridge to Ottawa and sees a world of possibility.

“With the opening of that bridge, we were like just, ‘Wow!’ Lafortune said. “It’s created a new dynamic between Ottawa and Gatineau.”

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But unfortunately for snow sports fans like Lafortune, the bridge remains a no-go zone in winter, cordoned off by steel gates and construction fencing.

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Lafortune is one of the people behind a drive for a new groomed ski trail on the NCC’s Voyageur multi-use pathway in Gatineau between the Champlain Bridge and the Chief William Commanda Bridge. If the William Commanda were open, Lafortune’s 3.5-km trail could connect across the river to Ottawa’s Kichi Sibi Winter Trail and beyond.

“That would be fantastic,” he said. “Then there’s the possibility of going even further on this side. You have easy access to Gatineau Park on one side and you can go as far west as you want on the other side, all the way to Aylmer. It would be a wonderful project.”

The Gatineau riverfront has been used unofficially by cross-country skiers for years, but last year, Lafortune and another avid skier, Michel Chenier, hatched the idea of creating a proper, groomed trail. The two men have been negotiating with the NCC, the City of Gatineau and Hydro Quebec on the plan.

“They’re quite enthusiastic so it’s just a matter of getting a plan in place for next year,” said Lafortune, a volunteer ski patroller and retired teacher who used to regularly ride his bike on the path network to his job in downtown Ottawa.

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“There’a good vibe about it,” he said. “But it’s more than that. It’s really something that could bring the two provinces together. Having that bridge open in the winter will be adding to the value of that area. What an asset it would be.”

The nearly one-kilometre-long trestle-type bridge was built in 1879 and had its superstructure rebuilt in 1926. Formerly known as the Prince of Wales Bridge, it was renamed for Algonquin elder Chief William Commanda in 2021 and opened last August for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The interprovincial link was an immediate hit, but many users were disappointed to learn the bridge would close when the snow came. At the time, the city said it would assess how the bridge performed this winter before deciding whether it can be opened for full winter use. One problem, according to the city, is that road salt will quickly damage the wooden decking and corrode the ironwork. But another more practical problem for skiers is that wind whipping down the Ottawa River is carrying the snow away as soon as it falls.

“The bridge doesn’t seem to be holding snow,” said Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Jeff Leiper. “There just is not enough snow in the bridge. It’s melting and blowing away. The city is discouraging that there will be grooming possible on the bridge.”

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Dave Adams, trail manager for the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail, wonders if snow fencing would help trap and retain snow. Snow fencing is used very successfully elsewhere on the trail. “It’s like a snow-making machine,” Adams said. “Sometimes it’s even too successful.

“If the city really wants to evaluate the bridge for winter use, then they are going to have to try stuff.”

Adams had offered to try grooming tracks on Lafortune’s Gatineau trail, but that was dependent on getting a snowmobile across the William Commanda bridge, which hasn’t been possible.

Meanwhile, the city is asking people to keep off the bridge while it “continues to explore opportunities that will allow the bridge to be used safely during winter months as a recreational facility.” It’s a request that seems to be ignored by people who routinely remove the fencing to access the bridge.

“The potential is obvious to link those cross-country trails. And once you get on the Gatineau side, you’re really not that far from Gatineau Park,” Leiper said. “You could ski all the way from the Bayview LRT station into Gatineau Park.”

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