After a fire destroyed a train bridge in Mayerthorpe on April 26th, the structure has been rebuilt after just 20 days. CN crews worked steady on the new bridge and have restored rail service between the town and Whitecourt. It is made up partly of concrete, steele and fill which will stretch 292 feet longer than the original.
19 year old Lawson Schalm the son of a former mayor for the town was charged in relation to the fire as well as numerous suspicious fires around the area earlier in the month. He was also alongside the other firefighters fighting the blaze as a junior firefighter when the bridge burnt down.
Schalm was denied bail in Stony Plain provincial court May 11th. He will appear in court again on June 15th.