110-year-old retaining wall near Ottawa Rowing Club to be demolished, replaced – Yahoo News Canada

The Ottawa Rowing Club sits along the Ottawa River below Lady Grey Drive. The National Capital Commission is building a new retaining wall to replace the current one seen at right, which is more than 110 years old. (Kimberley Molina/CBC - image credit)

The National Capital Commission is in the early stages of completely replacing the retaining wall on Lady Grey Drive, which is parallel to Sussex Drive near the shore of the Ottawa River, to ensure its structural integrity.

The wall built between1911 and 1913 supports the roadway above, which the commission (NCC) wants to transform into a pedestrian-friendly, multi-use "promenade," according to a presentation at a meeting of the NCC's board Thursday.

The NCC said ageotechnical study found the best way forward was to completely replace the 600 metre-long wall part of the wall partially collapsed in 2020something described as a "formidable engineering challenge."

The Ottawa Rowing Club, which sits just below Lady Grey Drive along the river shoreline, said the work will affect their next two seasons, but they hope to ultimately benefit from the road's revitalization.

"We'll make it work," said club president Peter Thompson. "Themembers are used to facing challenges at the shoreline, whether it's wind or waves or traffic or congestion on the docks at five o'clock in the morning. They're apretty resilient group."

Kimberley Molina/CBC

On any given spring day, there could be 100 rowers pushing off from the docks at the club. That number can double in the fall, so there will still be traffic along the road.

Thompson said the NCC, along with the city and federal government, hasbeen working with the club on the project.

"We have a commitment on the part of all three parties to keep atraffic lane open," he said. "So far, it's been a workable arrangement."

Public consultations are underway and the NCC said it has been working with local stakeholders to ensure disruptions are kept to a minimum during the construction phase.

In 2010, the federal government gave the NCC $1.5 million for work on "rehabilitation of a highly deteriorated dry limestone retaining wall."

That project was one of eight that were mentioned at the board's meeting Thursday.

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110-year-old retaining wall near Ottawa Rowing Club to be demolished, replaced - Yahoo News Canada