Get-Content : Access to the path 'C:\users\xxxxx\path\foo\bar' is denied. At C:\users\xxxxx\path\foo\testscript.ps1:53 char:12
That path doesn't look like it is a file but a folder.
Are you sure you are appending the file name to the folder and passing that to Get-Content
?
Windows gives Access Denied when you try and open a directory as if it were a file without passing extra flags; and .NET does not pass those flags (there are a few specific circumstances for opening a folder, but they do not apply here).