Red Hill off-ramp closed due to erosion
The Red Hill Valley Parkway’s southbound off-ramp at King Street East is closed until further notice because of erosion around one of the parapet walls adjacent to the creek.
With an ice storm expected this weekend, the city decided to close the off-ramp Friday evening as a precaution until work can be done, said city operations head Betty Matthews-Malone.
The closure will also allow for an urgent assessment of the bridge structure to be completed safely.
The issue was brought to the city’s attention when a member of the public sent in photos of the erosion, Matthews-Malone said.
“It was identified in our inspections, but it appears that there’s been a fairly recent failure there,” she said. “That’s what caused us to put all hands on deck to see what’s going on out there.”
The city closed the shoulder and one lane of the off-ramp Thursday but decided expand the closure starting 6:30 p.m. Friday because of the precipitation expected Saturday and Sunday.
Matthews-Malone said the city has been working with its structural engineer and has generated designs to make the repairs.
City staff along with a structural engineer will be back at the site Monday and expect to be able to provide an update then.
Once a contractor is brought out — ideally by next week — it should take a few days to fix the erosion, Matthews-Malone said.