Decade-old bridge railings rotting
Q: I noticed on the railway bridge on Merritt Street in St. Catharines a notification for the replacement of the railing. That bridge wasn’t replaced too long ago. What gives?
A: An attempt to save money on the bridge railings 10 years ago has led to a much-needed replacement today.
The $6.3-million bridge over the CN tracks in Merritton was constructed between April 2007 and June 2008. The federal and provincial governments each paid about $2 million with the city paying the rest.
Dan Dillon, director of transportation and environmental services, said budget constraints at the time meant they weren’t able to put in a galvanized railing on the approaches.
The metal railing that was installed is now rusting out. Dillon said it’s subjected to a lot of road salt because of the location and is rotting.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t last as long as we’d hoped.”
He said the new railing — at $200,0000 — will be galvanized and will stand up better to that type of environment.
It’s expected to last 20 to 30 years.
Q: The Thorold tunnel has reopened but there is a large gaping hole in the ceiling, presumably where it was damaged by the excavator. Does this mean that it will be closing again to complete the repair? If so, when and for how long ?
A: Turns out the Ministry of Transportation isn’t done with Thorold Tunnel.
The tunnel was shut down for emergency repairs from Aug. 4 until Aug. 11 after a truck carrying an excavator scraped the interior ceiling and damaged the concrete panels.
Workers had to remove the broken panels and lighting in the tunnel and truck in sand to protect the roadway in case anything slipped and hit the ground.
Ministry spokeswoman Astrid Poei said the ministry initially planned to install new panels, but decided to hold off because a rehabilitation of the whole tunnel is coming up in one to three years.
She said it was determined the new panels were not needed for safety.
They’ll be added as part of the rehabilitation process. The plan is currently in the design process, which started prior to the emergency shut down. Details about timing aren’t available yet.
Built in 1966, the tunnel has most recently undergone rehabilitations in 1986, 1997 and 2002.
Q: Could you please tell me when the road connecting Clare Avenue to Webber Road in Welland is going to be completed? It has been the way it is now for quite some time. AND Q: Just wondering when the Clare Avenue extension would be completed in Welland? Seems to have gone gung ho and then no movement at all for the past year or so.
A: The good news is Welland expects to tender the road project this fall.
City engineering design supervisor Chris Anders said they had to wait for a lighting design to be completed by the region before they could put the tender out for construction.
The design plan, which they have now received, is for traffic lights at the Webber Road and Clare Avenue intersection. It includes details such as pole placement, underground conduits, where to put pedestrian push buttons and the electrical cabinet that runs everything.
Anders said they’ll tender the road project in the fall and take it to council. Once they approve the award, construction can start.
The underground work consisting of sewers and watermains is done but the surface work of curbs, roads, sidewalks and signals needs to be completed.
There are no timelines yet and the progress will depend, in part, on how bad the winter weather is.
Q: On the north and south service roads, just before the curve towards Seventh Street Louth in St. Catharines, are signs that say “Prepare to Stop When Flashing.” These signs have not been in working order for the past few weeks.
A: The sign was on the fritz but it’s now working again.
Nick Rosati, Niagara Region traffic systems program manager, said there was faulty equipment in the cabinet. It was fixed at the end of last week.
The sign is placed at the location to warn drivers coming around the curve that traffic lights up ahead are red and they only flash when the lights are red.
Send your queries to Karena Walter by email at kwalter@postmedia.com; by Twitter @karena_ standard or through Facebook at www.facebook.com/karenawalter