The Department of Transportation is moving forward as quickly as possible in coming up with a plan to replace the Canning Bridge in Marystown, which was shut down for safety reasons last winter.

The closure of the span effectively cut the town in two, forcing residents to take a lengthy detour to get back and forth between Creston North and South.

That’s resulted in a significant impact on residents and businesses in the area.

Transportation Minister John Abbott and a team from his department met with area residents on Thursday to provide an update on the Canning Bridge.

He says it’s a major project which will cost a minimum of $20 million dollars.

He says a lot of work is required, but he’s hoping that decommissioning and removal of the old span and construction on a new bridge could begin as early as next year.