Etwell Road in Huntsville has been closed for the emergency replacement of a set of culverts.
The full closure is located near 1276 Etwell Road (Muskoka Road 45), about 200 metres north of Jarvies Road, with a detour of 25 minutes. Residents can still get to their homes from the north or south entrances to the road. The closure started Jan. 17, and is expected to last until about Feb. 17, according to Huntsville’s website.
Mark Misko, Muskoka’s Director of Engineering and Transportation, said the Wallington Creek Twin culverts had reached the end of their life cycle and needed to be replaced before the spring thaw.
“The review that we undertook on site indicated that holding off on replacing these could put us actually in a worse situation in the spring,” Misko told the Jan. 19 Engineering and Public Works Committee. “If these culverts were to fail completely, we’d be managing not only high water levels, we’d also be managing a road closure at the same time.”
The culverts were examined in October, but holiday-related supply chain issues meant contractors were not able to start before the new year, according to Misko. The $400,000 project was worked into the district’s 2021 Capital Budget after a decision by committee.
The bid was awarded to Fidelity Engineering and Construction, which started work on the project this week.