Progress on two projects to repair roads leading up two Terrace hills intensifies next week with city crews to start work on one hill while city staffers evaluate bids for the work on the other.
Beginning Aug. 3, Lanfear Hill will be shut down until Aug. 15 while city crews shore up the walkway after portions of it began sliding away earlier this year.
Pedestrians and cyclists have been banned from the hill pending repairs.
City officials have pegged $360,000 for this work which can be done by the city’s own workers without the need to contract out the job.
Crews will start by removing existing material from the narrow walkway, replacing it with compacted rockfill and other material.
This work is expected to have a lifespan of five years with city council hoping to secure the money for a more extensive rebuild of the entire roadway during this period.
A report for council did indicate that more extensive stabilization measures might be needed should poorer soil conditions than anticipated be encountered.
Meanwhile, bids close Aug. 5 to stabilize a portion of the Birch Hill road, a section of which was closed off at the start of the year after cracks were spotted in the asphalt.
An initial geotechnical assessment prepared for the city said the “road section failed due to a combination of oversteepened hill slopes and improperly designed and constructed retaining walls.”
Council has allocated $300,000 for the repair project and is taking the money from a reserve account created when the province provided grants in 2019 and 2020 for capital projects.
A site visit to Birch Hill took place July 27 for those interested in submitting bids.
