Ruined agricultural land & bridge in Middle River

This project visually documents how neglected river systems caused by bad government policy directly affects local farmlands and roadways. It features photographic evidence and reports on increased flooding risks and their detrimental effects on crop yields, farmer livelihoods, recreational areas, as well as damage to roads.

Eye-level view of Middle River where river switched course into the middle of a hay field.

A neglected culvert spewed gravel on a field that was later corrected by the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/ed38dc_5b066f5b20af4f26b03ed0ef4da2d548/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

In 1998, the provincial government of Nova Scotia spent $200,000 on upstream repairs. After 1998, there was no money spent on regular annual maintenance as government allocated no funds to such a program. The result noted towards the end of the video highlights complete devastation of a productive hayfield.

Red arrow indicates where the river changed course in 2017 at the Gold Brook bridge located on the world famous Cabot Trail. Previous breakwater established in 1991 breached due to lack of maintenance. Cost to taxpayer approximately $12 million and a motorist nearly lost her life when bridge collapsed into the river in November 2021.

Picture of the streambed above the Gold Brook bridge after the river switched. Begs the question, what about that stream habitat?

Note the green field at the top of the photo. What was previously the streambed was rocked in the 1980s holding the streambed in its original position before the stream broke further upstream.