Kenilworth access crumbling

There have been rocks and mud falling from the Kenilworth Access today — enough that the city has closed one of the lanes as a precaution.

The closure has caused quite a backup. Both of the upbound lanes are closed right at the hairpin turn where it splits off the Sherman Avenue. It’s a major backup- all the way down to the base of the escarpment. Cars are just crawling. Some of the drivers decided it would be better to do a u-tuen and head back down to find another access up.

The rain that we have been having in the area the past couple of days has caused a mud and rock slide. The falling material is visible. There is a bit of a lighter brown patch where water is seeping down and bringing with it mud and some chunks of rock against the dark brown of the escarpment wall. More material seems to fall when the rain is heavier.

City work crews are very concerned that a tumbling rock could hit a passing car of that mud and water could hinder driving conditions. That’s why they blocked the upbound lanes. Downbound vehicles are still passing through the area. We don’t know when this could reopen. It could depend on the weather and crews want to ensure that there is no risk to passing cars. Care are using the Sherman Access to get up the escarpment and it’s a slow crawl tonight.