Underpass closure put on hold

While last week the town announced both lanes of vehicular traffic through the Portage Avenue underpass would be closed from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today through Friday, the removal of the steel sheet pilings has been put on hold.
Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown told council last night that the work will not start today, as recent engineering input has suggested that the 40-foot pilings should not be removed after all as there may be a “stability issue.”
Brown said that a decision as to whether the pilings will be removed or not will be made later today, and if they are to be, both lanes of the Portage Avenue underpass could be closed starting tomorrow.
As previously reported, Fort Frances Emergency Services have jointly evaluated and confirmed that access to the north end of Fort Frances will not be significantly affected during the closure of the subway.
Emergency crews will access the north end using priortized available access, with the first choice being the underpass (if available for use); the second choice being the Victoria Avenue crossing; and the third choice being the McIrvine Road crossing.
Also at last night’s meeting, council:
•approved a break-open ticket licence application from the Rainycrest auxiliary at the 364 Food Store from Dec. 16, 2007-June 15, 2008;
•passed a bylaw to approve an agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources with respect to funding under the “Bear Wise” community funding program;
•passed a bylaw to reduce the speed limit to 20 km/h on Portage Avenue, from Third Street to Fifth Street, effective Nov. 26 (this amendment will remain in effect until Dec. 7);
•passed a bylaw to establish fees and charges for the costs of the collection of Provincial Offences Act fines that are due and unpaid;
•passed a bylaw to approve a contract with Associated Engineering Ltd. for professional engineering services resulting from a request for proposal (RFP-07-OF-10 was for an optimization study of the sewage treatment plant); and
•passed a bylaw to approve an agreement with Chamberlain Architect Services Limited for architectural services for the Fort Frances Public Library/Technology Centre project.