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Pedestrian Bridge for South Huron Trail Project

You are making your community safer and more active with your support of the Pedestrian Bridge on the South Huron Trail Project. Thanks to your help, we have built Jones Bridge. You have helped to turn this dream into a reality.

The pedestrian bridge was installed downstream of Morrison Dam in late 2018 and it is open for use.

More than 80 people attended the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting for Jones Bridge.

The donor recognition pergola is now in place to thank you for your generosity.

The Brian Clarke memorial stairs have been built.

The trail linkages and site restoration are being finished this spring. 

Donations are still needed to complete the project including ancillary structures as well as a legacy preservation fund for Jones Bridge.

To donate, call 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610 or donate by PayPal by clicking button below:

You are also invited to contact any of the members of the community working group. Their names are in the bridge brochure available online and in printed copies.

The community fundraising campaign is now close to its capital project target. Donations are still needed to complete the project including ancillary structures and to maintain the bridge and associated structures through a legacy bridge preservation fund.

Donations to the Jones Bridge project, made directly to Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation, are eligible for charitable gift receipts for income tax purposes.

The bridge is called Jones Bridge as it is dedicated by Donna Jones, in loving memory of Ted Jones, who was a dedicated community volunteer, conservationist, Exeter Lions Club member and Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation director.

Jones Bridge is open and ready to use

Jones Bridge is a new pedestrian bridge linking both sections of the South Huron Trail and providing a safer, more scenic alternative to walking beside vehicle traffic along Morrison Line.

Jones Bridge is open and ready for use. The bridge is located downstream of Morrison Dam on the MacNaughton–Morrison Section of the South Huron Trail. The bridge was installed in November of 2018 and is ready to use. The structure allows trail users to safely cross the Ausable River without having to walk along Morrison Line. 

Fundraising continues with donations coming in each week. But we still have a ways to go to complete the needed fundraising and to construct ancillary structures, and a legacy preservation fund, in support of the Jones Bridge Project. To donate, please complete the donor form from the pedestrian bridge brochure and mail it to Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority at 71108 Morrison Line, RR 3 Exeter, ON N0M 1S5  or visit the ABCA office or call with credit card information.

The official opening and donor recognition event took place on Saturday, April 27, 2019. Thanks to all who attended for this historic event.

To find out more about the Pedestrian Trail Bridge Project download the brochure at this link:

proposed bridge aerial view

The bridge is suitable for pedestrians, cyclists, strollers, wheelchairs, the South Huron Trail Mobile (for people with limited mobility), and winter visitors. The completion of this project could enhance use of the trail for decades.

Iron Bridge Fabrication Inc. of Brunner, Ontario manufactured the bridge structure. VanDriel Excavating Inc., of the Clinton area, did the work needed to erect the bridge including pouring abutments and installation of the bridge. B. M. Ross and Associates Limited, of Goderich, was the project’s consulting engineer.

There is additional work and ancillary structures completed in the new year (2019).

Some trail users had to walk beside vehicle traffic beside the roadway over Morrison Dam in order to enjoy both sections of the South Huron Trail. The new pedestrian bridge changes that by offering a safer, more scenic alternative. The bridge is suitable for pedestrians, cyclists, strollers, wheelchairs, the South Huron Trail Mobile (for people with limited mobility), and winter visitors.

Project organizers say the public has been incredibly generous in support for the project to build a bridge to a safer, more active community with the creation of Jones Bridge, a new Pedestrian Bridge on the South Huron Trail.

The total capital cost of the Jones Bridge Project is more than $300,000 and donations and pledges have helped the Pedestrian Bridge Community Working Group get closer each day to reaching the fundraising goal. 

The community working group, and Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation, want to thank everyone who has supported the project.

The Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting for Jones Bridge took place on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at 10 a.m.

The event took place north of Jones Bridge, at the new stairway built in memory of Brian Clarke. 

“This project was the community working together,” said Dave Frayne, Chair of the Pedestrian Trail Bridge Community Working Group. “Many people shared the dream of building Jones Bridge and they showed their commitment through their generosity.”

Donors to the bridge project include the Municipality of South Huron; individual donors; service clubs and community groups; the South Huron Trail Fundraiser Golf Tournament; businesses; families; and students.

People can now cross the Ausable River, and enjoy both trail sections, without walking beside vehicle traffic on Morrison Line. “That’s what it’s all about, making the community safer and more active,” the Chair said.

The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation was incorporated in 1974 as a registered, charitable, non-profit organization that promotes accessible trails and other conservation projects in Ausable Bayfield watersheds.

Pedestrian Trail Bridge in the News

Visit our News and Events for more news about Jones Bridge.