By James Matthews

Some North Shore Road residents in Algonquin Highlands will temporarily lose Maple Lake access to accommodate the road’s repair at the shoreline.

Adam Thorn, the township’s public works manager, told council during its Feb. 6 meeting that he anticipates the work will take two years to complete. When it begins is dependent on bids for the job received from potential contractors.

Just how long people will lose water access isn’t yet known, Thorn said. A clearer picture will be had once a work schedule is in place.

“I don’t want to get too far into it because I’d hate to say it’s going to be three months and it’s a week that one person is affected,” he said. “But, certainly, there is going to be everyone across that section where the rebuild is happening will be affected.”

That section of the North Shore Road to be worked on extends from the Generation Trail to St. Peters Road. But the only pieces of the road where work will be done in Maple Lake and water access will be denied are the four identified slumping sections, Thorn said.

Work there will take place below the water line at those sections.

“This is a big project and it affects a lot of people,” he said. “We’re going to try to make this as painless as possible and as less invasive as possible with the understanding that we can’t build roads without people being affected.”

North Shore Road upgrades began years ago. Attempts made to obtain funding for the project didn’t work out as hoped.

“We progressively been looking at the road and trying to come up with some solutions, cost-effective solutions to repair the sections that were noted as a slump section,” Thorn said.

Staff worked with Jewell Engineering last year on road designs and shoreline repairs along four sections of North Shore Road that were identified as needing major repairs due to shoreline erosion.

The erosion caused portions of the roadway to slump into Maple Lake.

The collaboration focused on evaluating the extent of the damage and developing sustainable repair options to stabilize the affected sections, prevent further erosion, and protect the integrity of the road and adjacent shoreline.

The project scope includes slope stabilization measures and actual road repair work.

Two stabilization options were devised that could accomplish what’s required for the slumping section, Thorn said. There is a large difference in cost between the options.

“The aggressive work required to install piles is pretty invasive,” he said.

Staff suggested council opt for the $411,000 option over the second which has an about $1.5 million price tag.

The preferred option involves placing shot rock along the existing toe of slope. This large rock will stabilize the toe of slope and permit non-erodible material to be placed to build-up the existing slope to a 2:1 slope.

Shot rock will extend up the slope two metres above normal water surface elevation to resist erosion due to fluctuations in water surface elevation, waves, and ice action. The upper part of the slope will be covered with vegetated rip-rap to aid in long-term performance of the slope.

Vegetated rip-rap involves planting of native trees and shrubs within the rocks on the new slope to create a more natural look. Sturdy tree roots aid in anchoring the slope.

“It’ll take its time and then it’ll grow back into a nice natural area,” Thorn said. “Certainly not a smooth manicured front yard by any means, but it’ll certainly go back to a natural look and have a nice look along that edge of the road.”

Rebuilding the road itself requires digging the subgrade of the affected sections. Of six suggested avenues to address repairs, staff urged council to greenlight and approach that delivers a durable and long-lasting solution and enhances user benefits.

It will cost about $2.5 million and involves widening the road, pulverizing to a depth of 200 mm, placing 30 mm of Granular A, and then a single 60 mm lift of hot mix asphalt.

Thorn said it isn’t the cheapest option considered but will provide the most stabilization and longevity for the cost.

As soon as council greenlights the project, everybody in the area is going to be made aware of the work. Thorn said communication is a key component to ensure people dependent on North Shore Road are kept aware during the project.

Thorn said residents would be provided as much of a schedule of work as possible.

“This is a pretty substantial project,” he said. “Probably one of the largest projects that we’ve done here in Algonquin Highlands.”

Property owners with structures on the shoreline areas to be worked on would have to be removed, Thorn said.

“They need to be removed so that all the in-water work can be done,” he said. “It can’t be done with a dock in the way or a set of stairs. So certainly they would lose access to getting to the water via the way they’ve probably done it in the past. It would be deemed a contraction site so it would be unsafe for them to navigate up and down.”