Bathurst Street repairs continue nearly three months after incident

YorkRegion.com
July 25, 2017
Simon Martin

Bathurst Street has been closed for more than two months, and the region still is yet to specify when the road might be open again.

Repairs started on the road in East Gwillimbury and King May 23. At the time, York Region Director of Capital and Delivery Salim Alibhai said it will likely be closed from Green Lane to Morning Sideroad until the end of July as construction ensues.

As the calendar reaches the end of July, Alibhai said the weather has played a factor in the repair.

“The wet weather and rain has impacted the work schedule but the contractor is doing everything they can to keep as close to schedule as possible,” he said. “In the interest of public safety, the region wants to ensure that the issues related to the stability of the slopes are fully addressed before the road is opened.”

It’s been less than a year since the $32 million Bathurst Street reconnection project opened, and yet significant problems with the road were discovered May 5 after “embankment slippage”. Heavy rains caused soil erosion around a large culvert that runs underneath the road.

“We closed the road in the interest of public safety,” Alibhai said at the time.

The portion of road in question is just north of Green Lane. Alibhai said the road is about 30 feet above the ground. A large steel culvert runs from one side of the road to the other. Above the culvert, there is a retaining system that works like a barrier to keep the road in place. Alibhai said the danger is once the wall has slipped, it won’t be able to retain the road.

The new road has an additional lane, allowing slower traffic to climb uphill without delaying other traffic. Intersection improvements were made at Green Lane West, Morning Sideroad, and Highway 11.

Each of the three newly-constructed culverts along Bathurst were also built as wildlife crossings, allowing animals to safely pass under the road.