Saving the Petitcodiac River
(1963 – 200?)

Petitcodiac Renaissance Monument
(Draft Commemorative Text)

In 1963, a decision was made to build a causeway across the Petitcodiac River in order to provide a new transportation link between the communities of Moncton and Riverview. Construction began in 1966 and the structure was completed in 1968.

Shortly afterwards, large expanses of silt began to accumulate downstream from the causeway, impacting navigation, the tidal bore and the migration of fish in the entire river system. In the late 1960’s, citizens began voicing their concerns over the state of the river, demanding that the gates of the causeway be opened.

By the early 1990’s, extensive buildups of silt covered over 97 percent of the river near this point and extended as far away as 35 kilometers downstream to the Shepody Bay. By the turn of the 21st century, nearly every marine species native to the Petitcodiac River system had been decimated or significantly reduced. The river’s world-renowned tidal bore was nearly eliminated. The Petitcodiac was recognized as the most endangered river in Canada.

Determined to save present and succeeding generations from inheriting a legacy of environmental and community loss brought about by the Petitcodiac causeway, citizens of this region resolved to combine their efforts to achieve the restoration of the Petitcodiac River. The struggle that endured, between the late-1960’s and the early part of the 21st century, transformed itself into one of the longest environmental battles in Canadian history.

Ultimately, their efforts prevailed. This monument is a tribute to the renaissance of the Petitcodiac River and to the generosity of those who took part in the epic environmental battle to save the mighty Petitcodiac.