North Bay’s public works crew slowed traffic on Trout Lake Road down to one lane Thursday morning.
A build-up of icy conditions adjacent to Average Joes Restaurant has city crews working through the winter season to keep the road clear.
City Engineer David Euler says “we have had this problem in the past, but nothing like this year. The retaining wall has drain holes at the bottom to relieve the water pressure build up. Normally in the winter the water from the soil has long since drained out, but this fall was so wet that the soil became saturated and never had a chance to dry out. There is not much we can do now but try to maintain the ice".
Dominic Schiavone, the Director of Public Works, explains the maintenance to ease the icy, wet and bumpy drive. “We have been scraping the roadway with our grader to remove ice formation. Periodically we have had to bring in a backhoe and truck to remove and haul excessive build-up. In the spring we will be completing repairs to the curb and deteriorated sections of the retaining wall.”
When asked about the situation, Mayor Al McDonald responded, “The ground is saturated this year from an incredibly wet season. The wall and curb will be addressed in the spring as part of our capital budget. This is an example of why we need to spend money each year on our infrastructure.”
