Abitibi Banks project underway on old Resolute site in Iroquois Falls

“It’s the dawn of a new era.”

Iroquois Falls Mayor Michael Shea may have said it best with that quote, as there was plenty of good news to share with residents after Abitibi Riversedge bought the land that the old Resolute Forestry paper mill sits on.

There was more to it than that.

CEO Justus Veldman revealed that as part of the purchase, they’ve also acquired the nearby golf course land and the Abitibi Trestle bridge and work to restore the bridge and open it back up to traffic will get underway immediately.

Work will also begin on the mill itself.  Veldman says the job for them is to restore the building so that when a new company rolls around, the building will be “shovel ready.”

Shea says he and Veldman have been in discussions since the moment Resolute closed the mill in late December 2014, leaving around 200 people without work.

It’s unknown how many jobs his acquisition will create, but Veldman says they’ll get as many locals involved as possible and will look elsewhere if they need any specific expertise.

In terms of timelines, Veldman says they’ll have to take a look at the state the bridge is in at the moment but estimates it should take around 6-8 weeks to get the bridge in safe working order.  And yes, that means outdoor enthusiasts should be able to use the bridge by the time summer rolls around.

As for the mill, Veldman estimates that work will take around 2 years to complete.