At a cost of nearly $650,000, the Town of Deer Lake is banking on a wall of rock to prevent any more erosion along the banks of the Humber River on Pine Tree Drive.
The ground in the bank on the road that follows the path of the river is pure beach sand.
In January 2018, a rainstorm sent raging floodwaters and broken pack ice downstream and directed right at a bend in the river on Pine Tree Drive.
As the bank fell away, it brought concerns with regards to the infrastructure under the road and nearby homes.
Since then, the town has been working with engineers to come up with a way to prevent further erosion in the area. The solution that has been decided on by the town is to build a rock wall extending up from the river.
- RELATED: Banks of the Humber River along Pine Tree Drive in Deer Lake continue to collapse from erosion
The work, which has already been started, will see a base of three, four-tonne rocks placed at the bottom of the bank along a distance of 210 metres. Those big rocks will be placed two-wide with the third rock placed on top of them, in the middle. The wall will then be built up to the top of the hill with rock of varying sizes.
Mayor Dean Ball said he’s optimistic it will be enough.
“We want to make sure this is the right scope of work," he said. "There’s a lot of damage in that area and I don’t want another repeat of two years ago.”
When water levels are down, Ball said the area is pretty stable.
“But it wouldn’t take much to cause a bit of erosion.”
That would mean a lot of trouble for the town.
The rock wall is not being located behind any of the private properties in the area.
