La Broquerie bridge pays tribute to town's founding families

Residents in La Broquerie, Man. are excited about a new landmark that is bridging the gap to the town's founding families.

Residents in La Broquerie, Man. are excited about a new landmark that is bridging the gap to the town's founding families.

The Bridge of the Pioneers was officially unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in La Broquerie this week. The steel-built covered bridge now spans the Seine River next to the La Broquerie golf course.

It's the culmination of a lifelong dream for Laurent Tetrault, deputy reeve for the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie.

"This project started approximately two years ago, it was a dream of mine to have a covered bridge on the Seine River…I've always been fascinated by covered bridges on rivers," said Tetrault.

The bridge cost approximately $500,000 to build, which was donated by local philanthropist Russ Edwards. Edwards moved to La Broquerie from Ukraine as a child in 1937, and is now the founder and owner of WGI Westman Group.

Tetrault approached Edwards about funding the project, and said the philanthropist was immediately on board.

"He remembered as a small boy how special it was to be welcomed in a (mostly) French community at the time," Tetrault said. "He wanted to give back to his community that welcomed his family."