The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is providing an update on the repairs to the Erie Shore Drive dike.
During a special meeting on Friday night, municipal officials brought residents and councillors up to speed on the work happening along the roadway and some of the challenges crews are facing.
The closure of the road came on March 9, after an earlier report showed that there was a five to 40 per cent chance that conditions would leave the dike unstable, leading to a significant breach. The move left dozens of residents unable to access their homes.
According to Thomas Kelly, manager of infrastructure and engineering services, the project is currently ahead of schedule.
To date, there have been 425 deliveries of clay. In accordance with engineering recombinations, spillway reinforcements are currently in progress with two spillways eliminated to minimize water overtopping areas of the road. Concrete blocks have also been moved from the west lane to the centreline.
Kelly said the team has faced some limitations with where blocks can go.
"Nothing is consistent out there," he said. "We have hydro poles located in different spots. So that fluctuates quite a bit."
Inconsistencies are just one of the several challenges Kelly addressed on Friday. He said construction crews have also had to deal with unauthorized vehicles entering the construction zone.
"Both residents of Erie Shore Drive and also non-residents. We have been addressing those very quickly," he said. "Some were surprising to us. We still have that issue of gawkers who just want to see what's going on. They've driven right through the road closed sign."
The project is also very weather-dependant and, according to Kelly, crews have faced a few setbacks along the way. On Tuesday and Friday, work was brought to a halt because of unfavourable conditions and safety concerns.
"I was out there on March 10, it was a normal day...as we started to work the rain picked up, we had significant flooding and we had to stop the work in two specific areas," he explained.
According to Kelly, an average workday is 13 hours long and workers have been on the site seven days a week. Kelly said the next steps will be finding a solution to mitigate the risk of two flood-prone areas. On March 28, a safety assessment is expected to be completed to see if the land can be reclassified.