Martindale closure may span months
Port Dalhousie firefighting capabilities compromised
Martindale Road on the way into Port Dalhousie will be closed for about two months while repairs are made, Niagara Region’s public works committee learned Tuesday.
The slope near the southwest approach to the to the J.R. Stork bridge “failed” on May 5 after significant rainfall and resulted in “significant loss to the road structure,” said Ron Tripp, the Region’s commissioner of public works, in a memo to the committee.
Tripp said he doesn’t know what the repairs will eventually cost. He estimated the “financial risk” could run anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million.
Tripp said he will return to the committee and update it on the price tag and funding solutions when more detailed engineering information is available.
Regional staff estimated the slope failure to be about 30 metres long, Tripp’s memo said. Crews worked in the rain to try and stabilize the slope with rock but the plan didn’t work.
Rankin Construction, Ellis Engineering and Terraprobe Engineering were hired Monday to perform some preliminary engineering work and determine the best temporary repair solution.
At this point, there doesn’t appear to be any damage to the bridge structure itself, but analysis work is ongoing.
Tripp said fixing a key watermain that was destroyed when the slope collapsed is a priority.
St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Services asked that the watermain be re-established as quickly as possible.
“We have two mains that come into Port Dalhousie,” fire Chief Dave Wood said. “One comes in from Lakeport Road, and one comes in from Martindale Road. When we lose one, it definitely reduces the water pressure in the Port Dalhousie area.
“Right now, we wouldn’t have enough pressure to fight a fire, but we have a mutual aid plan with Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Pelham.
“If we needed water resources — which we would — they would supply us with their tankers. We did a timing for the closest tanker, and we could have one there within 10 to 15 minutes of the initial call. We also moved our pumper tanker to Station No. 2. It has 1,000 gallons on it. We are ready.”
Wood said he is hoping the Region can have a temporary fix for the watermain in place by the middle of next week.
The entire Niagara region was under an Environment Canada rainfall warning late last week with 50 to 70 mm expected through Saturday and the ground already saturated with little ability to absorb more rain.
As of midnight on Friday, Martindale Road at the bridge was closed, and the site secured using temporary concrete barriers and security fencing. Traffic is being detoured using Lakeshore Road West, Seventh Street and South Service Road, the memo said.