A couple of streets around the evacuation zone in downtown Wheatley will reopen on Tuesday.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent said Elm Street between Erie Street North and Little Street and Foster Street between Erie Street North and Victoria Street in Wheatley will reopen for traffic on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
The provincial drilling contractor has completed its work and has left the site, according to Chatham-Kent Director of Public Works Ryan Brown. Brown said security personnel will remain at the site of the reduced evacuation zone around the clock.
The municipality said the evacuation zone could be further reduced and Erie Street North reopened after a scrubber system is installed to capture any Hydrogen Sulfide gas at the site.
"This could lead to a further reduction of the evacuation zone and the reopening of Erie Street North between Elm and Talbot Road. Reopening the streets (Elm and Foster) will provide a much improved east-west traffic flow through the community," said Brown.
Brown said the scrubber system has been ordered and the municipality is still waiting on a delivery update. He also said there are no timelines to reopen the rest of the evacuation zone.
He noted the current flare stack onsite will remain as a backup system for now as an extra safety measure.
Brown said the plan is still being developed and options to allow pedestrian traffic along the street are being discussed as part of that plan.
Brown noted the municipality has been working to get insurance companies into the remaining private buildings and there may be timelines to get that work completed to get the street re-opened once all the structural engineering assessments are in.
Downtown Wheatley was the site of a Hydrogen Sulfide gas explosion in August of 2021.