A portion of Glasgow Street in Conestogo will remain closed indefinitely following the failure of the headwall on a culvert. The closure has left Woolwich Township scrambling to find money for the repairs as it tries to figure out the extent of the project and when it might be completed.
There’s no quick repair for the part of the roadway and concrete wall washed away on the stretch of Glasgow Street North between Flax Mill and Misty River drives.
Richard Sigurdson, Woolwich’s manager of engineering, said the structure’s age, it was built more than 90 years ago, led to the failure.
“We knew it was starting to become a problem,” said Sigurdson, noting some planning was in the works before the failure sent concrete toppling into the creek.
Pressure from water coming down the hill over time caused the headwall to fall, with an exceptionally wet winter and spring likely helping to speed up the process.
Now, the township is looking at options, including whether to repair or replace the culvert. Repairing it would only be a stopgap measure, said Sigurdson, and might not be a good use of money. Replacing the structure will take longer and cost considerably more. How much is being determined as engineers crunch the numbers.
Whatever the cost, it will be an unbudgeted expense, he added.
“It’s not an ideal situation, by any means. Financing is a challenge.”
Woolwich spent $25,000 about a decade ago repairing the other side of the culvert. This will be a much larger project.
Sigurdson said he expects to come to council next month with a report outlining options. The best-case scenario, depending on the scope of the project and if everything fell into place, would be for the work to begin early in the fall, winding up by late October or early November.
“We’d love to get it corrected this year,” he said.
