Northbound lanes of the Claremont Access closed for emergency repairs

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Not only were there no bikes on the Claremont Access today, there were no cars either in the northbound lanes. The city of Hamilton has closed them, while crews do emergency repairs on the escarpment above the roadway.

A contractor was clearing foliage on the Claremont Access, when he noticed that a hanging piece of wall seemed unsafe. Tree cutting is part of the maintenance of the escarpment.

“The trees, as they grow and the roots expand, they cause problems for the bin wall. The extra weight of the trees also puts extra loading on the bin walls.” said Brian Hughes from Hamilton Public Works.

The contractor is tasked with inspecting the wall as he does his work.

“It’s difficult for us to get up there to view all those areas, it’s a pretty high wall.” said Hughes.

Bin walls were installed in 1971 to protect the escarpment. A bin is a type of retaining wall filled with gravel for extra strength.

In 2012, part of the wall came tumbling down to the road, narrowly missing traffic. One lane has been closed ever since. The bin wall never replaced and it’s now the blank spot you see on the escarpment just uphill of the current problem.

“We’ve come back once or twice to remove loose rocks. Just to make sure there’s not a lot of stuff sliding down.”

The city continues to monitor the wall and results of the latest study are expected early next year.

“That should give a view to what should be done with the wall.”

In the short term, the contractor will still keep an eye out for weak spots.

The city will keep the northbound Claremont Access closed for as long as the contractor needs to do his work, and right now, they’re not sure how long that will be.

By late afternoon workers were still clearing foliage and hadn’t begun repairs and alternate routes down the mountain were already snarled.