Northbound lanes on Claremont Access closed indefinitely

The City of Hamilton says a portion of the Claremont Access will remain “closed until further notice” after crews were forced to stop working on repairs when the ground began to shift.

The northbound lanes were shut down last Friday after a contractor noticed an unsafe hanging piece of the wall while he was clearing foliage from the access.

The repairs were scheduled to be done by Wednesday but the city said work was halted after conditions became unsafe for the workers.

“The intent was for them to begin lifting the panels off the side of the escarpment and when they began to do that, they heard some noise and they saw some movement,” said Public Works General Manager Dan McKinnon. “It became evident that it was unsafe for their staff to be working on the edge of the escarpment so what we’ve had to do is stop, and we have to reevaluate now.”

The city is hoping to alleviate congestion by turning one of the up-bound lanes into a down-bound lane. They are also looking to extend the length of green lights on all mountain accesses during rush hour.

In 2012, a part of the wall came tumbling down to the road, narrowly missing traffic.

One lane was closed permanently and the bin wall was never replaced. It’s now the blank spot you see on the escarpment just uphill of the current problem.

City officials say tree roots often cause problems for the bin wall.