MONCTON, N.B. — Transportation minister, Percy Mockler, says the deteriorating Jersey barriers on the Moncton-Riverview causeway must be replaced.

The barriers were not strong enough to prevent a truck from plunging into the Petitcodiac River earlier this year, which prompted Riverview Mayor Bruce Fitch to call for the provincial government to replace the aging barriers on the causeway.

“Fortunately, the story had a happy ending this time, but next time, we might not be so lucky,” Fitch cautioned.

Mockler assured the mayor that his department would carry out a complete analysis of the barriers and make a report on it.

Tracey Burkhardt, communications director for the Department of Transportation, says the final report has not yet been completed, but says the minister will review their recommendations and likely make a decision regarding the barriers by the end of this month.

“Even if the current barriers may meet the province’s height requirements,” says Fitch, “they are still deteriorating and falling apart and need to be replaced. I believe the barriers there now are the original ones put up when the causeway was first built.”