Scott Street sewer lining - prep work begins today

Good morning, and happy new year!

After months of discussions, the City is finally ready to proceed with completing sewer lining work on Scott Street between Merton and Bayview (see my November 30 newsletter). Beginning today, residents will see preparations on Scott Street that will have traffic and cycling implications that I'll address in just a bit.

Many will recall that this work encountered some very serious challenges last winter, to the point where it had to be stopped. There is no question that the work needs to be done. The bus detour is moving ahead despite our efforts, and the sewer underneath has to be able to handle the traffic. I am reassured that several critical changes have been made to ensure that we don't have a repeat of chemical odours getting into people's homes. The product to be used this time does not contain styrene, will be cured by circulated hot water (not steam), a pre-liner will be used and there will be mechanical venting. I'm satisfied that every possible precaution has been thought through and taken, with Ottawa Public Health looped in from the beginning. We had a good meeting open to residents (one attended) early last November to run through the precautions, and I'm satisfied that the same problems won't reoccur. Further, there have been a number of inspections and work undertaken to address potential problems associated with residents' plumbing.

The work requires that the existing sewer flow be diverted, and starting today they'll begin work on the by-pass. The sewer - the Cave Creek Collector - is a massive one at 1.5m high and normally runs about 50% full. To by-pass it, several pipes and pumps will be laid along Scott Street from Merton to Bayview. I want to thank staff for the work they did yesterday to route those pipes in the unused bus lane on the north side of Scott, rather than in the multi-use path as was proposed. There will be a bit of a pinch point in the path, but it will still be open for cycling and pedestrians - a critical link in the winter network.

Tomorrow, OC Transpo is scheduled to do a mid-day test run consisting of a couple of buses to see how the route works and record it for driver training along the site. The by-pass is scheduled to be tested on Monday, and then at 5 pm on Monday lane reductions will be put into place. Scott will be reduced to two lanes - one in each direction, between Merton and Bayview. The lining will start on Tuesday. I intend to be onsite for much of the day - one late afternoon event at City Hall and our ward forum mean I'll be away for a few hours.

On Wednesday, crews will take video of the lining after it cures, then cut open the service laterals on Scott. On Thursday, the bypass pumping equipment will be removed.

On Friday, residents who are most immediately affected will be notified with a flyer drop-off (I've asked for a pretty broad area to be notified).

The work will be a little noisy and disruptive - I want to thank everyone for their patience.