Wentworth stairs closed for repairs

For many Hamiltonians the Wentworth stairs are a way to access the Hamilton mountain or the downtown core. But as the west leg of the Sherman access closed today, so did the popular stairs.

They will be closed for five months because the bottom and the top of the stairs are divided by the Sherman access which is under construction. 600 metres in length of retaining wall along the access’ escarpment will be replaced and in order to do that there can not be any vehicle or pedestrian traffic.

“For public safety reasons we don’t want people crossing that area. The 5 sections of retaining walls spans on either side of the pedestrian stairs.” Marco Oddi, City of Hamilton.

The stairs were blocked today with big signs saying that they will re-open at the end of November, the city is also taking this closure as an opportunity to make some repairs on the lower half of the stairs.

The total cost of the project is $100 000 which will mainly be used to repair the cement blocks that hold up the stairs.

The city is encouraging people who use the stairs recreationally to explore the different trails and stairs in Hamilton this summer.