Trans-Canada Highway may be built right over Nova Scotia sinkhole: report

In this file photo, construction continues on the Connecting Link section of Highway 101 in northern Ontario.Len Gillis / Postmedia Network Back in May, this publication wrote about a sinkhole threatening the main road leading into the town of Oxford, Nova Scotia. At the time, your author also included an image from Google Maps, highlighting a trio of areas that seemed to indicate the problem could spread to the nearby Trans-Canada Highway.Now, nearly half a calendar year later, it seems other people including the Department of Transportation have begun to pick up on the problem as well.According to aerial photographs collected by the CBC dating back to the 1930s, there is the potential for sinkhole calamity to rear its head underneath a busy part of the Nova Scotia highway.Looking at the CBC photos, its clear that stretch of highway was built over something whether it was a sinkhole or small pond is currently up for debate. However, the general understanding is that when the link was built nearly fifty years ago, common roadbuilding techniques would have had construction crews simply fill the offending area with rocks and gravel. An animation of aerial photographs of the affected area, compiled by the CBC National Air Photo Library and Brett Ruskin / CBC If the spot is indeed a sinkhole a reasonable assumption given the topographical challenges nearby that decision could spell disaster if the floor of the sinkhole shifts, something sinkholes tend to do.These days, building around or over a sinkhole isnt too much of a problem, as construction of a special bridge will shift the roadways weight away from the trouble spot. This author travels this section of highway several times a month, and can confidently assert there is no bridge of any kind on the main part of the TCH in this area, sinkhole-proof or otherwise.Local politicians are calling on other levels of government to step up and help solve this issue before it becomes a problem. The provincial transportation department has committed to an in-depth geotechnical investigation over the next few weeks, but asserts there has been no significant changes in the topography over the years. Its worth noting that the nearby community of Springhill was a mining town for ages.Alert readers will note there rarely are significant changes before a major sinkhole event, given that the significant change usually rears its head at the moment all the ground gives way. Caretakers at the Corvette Museum can attest to that
Origin: Trans-Canada Highway may be built right over Nova Scotia sinkhole: report

Electric vehicle charging stations crop up along Trans-Canada Highway in Saskatchewan

Adrian Dean, a member of the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association, charges his 2011 Nissan Leaf at Petro-Canadas EV Fast Charge station on Reginas east end.Brandon Harder / Regina Leader-Post Electric vehicle (EV) owners in Saskatchewan will soon have a lot more options when trying to find a place to plug in.Tesla, Petro-Canada and Canadian Tire are all planning to build fast-charging stations in the province. Petro-Canadas Regina station soft-launched on Tuesday, and three more in the province are expected to be up and running by the end of September.Tesla is planning to have seven Supercharger stations in the province this year, with some already under construction. Canadian Tire is planning 10 charging locations, and is hoping to have them operating towards the end of next year.The Tesla and Petro-Canada charging stations are both part of cross-country networks, meaning the all the Saskatchewan locations will be near the Trans-Canada Highway. Adrian Dean, a member of the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association, charges his 2011 Nissan Leaf at Petro-Canada’s EV Fast Charge station on Regina’s east end. Brandon Harder / Regina Leader-Post These new charging stations are also more advanced and offer shorter charging times. Matthew Pointer, the founder of the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association, said charging times at older stations ranged from three to four hours. The new stations will be able to fully charge a vehicle in 30 to 45 minutes, and as short as 20 minutes at Teslas Supercharger stations.Its a significant boost for us. Its actually the biggest infrastructure thing that weve seen in Saskatchewan ever as far as electric vehicles, said Pointer. Pointer said EV owners typically charge their vehicles at home, making charging stations ideal when going on long-distance trips. Saskatoon does have charging stations, but neither Tesla nor Petro-Canada have listed any upcoming locations in the city. A Petro-Canada representative said the company wanted to start with stations near the Trans-Canada, and more may come to the province in the future.Canadian Tire, which received funding to build its stations through the federal governments electric vehicle and alternative fuel infrastructure initiative, doesnt currently have plans for a Saskatoon location. The closest one will be in
Origin: Electric vehicle charging stations crop up along Trans-Canada Highway in Saskatchewan

This Nova Scotia sinkhole could swallow up part of the Trans-Canada Highway

In this file photo, construction continues on the Connecting Link section of Highway 101 in northern Ontario.Len Gillis / Postmedia Network As a gearhead, most of us have had experience with sinkholes of the automotive variety. Your author has witnessed sinkholes in the form of a Jeep CJ-7 and Chevy Camaro, for example. Maybe it’s more apt to call those financial sinkholes, however. This one that has cropped up in Nova Scotia recently is decidedly more of the physical sort, and has the potential to swallow up some critical roadwork, and perhaps even the Trans-Canada Highway. The sinkhole first appeared last summer in a park near the entrance of Oxford, Nova Scotia, not too far from the Lion’s Club. When first spotted by locals, it was about the size of a good dinner plate. Now it’s grown to the diameter of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, making the ground near the park quite unstable, while also eating into a parking lot. Locals will tell you there are plenty of sinkholes in the area already, some of which are now considered lakes and ponds which can be clearly seen on Google Earth. The red arrows on the image below point toward bodies of water which occurred thanks to sinkhole activity, one of which is adjacent to Route 104. The green arrow indicates the approximate location of this story’s subject. Is the new sinkhole super-close to the Trans Canada Highway? Well, it’s about half a kilometer from the nearest TCH infrastructure, including an off-ramp for Exit 6 of Highway 104. Left unchecked, and given the historical instability of the area’s geography, it could happen. It’ll not escape your notice that it is extremely close, within just a stone’s throw, to the main road leading into town. Fortunately, the federal government is helping out local residents to the tune of about $68,000, hiring a geology team to perform electrical and then seismic testing to map the earth around and underneath the sinkhole. Dan Parker, the team lead, told CBC News that the two sets of data will provide “a good image as to what’s going on in the vicinity of the active sinkhole.” The geological team will be on-site for the next couple of
Origin: This Nova Scotia sinkhole could swallow up part of the Trans-Canada Highway

New Brunswick flooding recedes slightly; Trans-Canada Highway reopening in sections

A woman wades through the flood waters of the St. John River on the only access road to the Dominion Park community in Saint John, N.B., on Wednesday, April 24, 2019.Stephen MacGillivray / THE CANADIAN PRESS After suffering through some of the most severe flooding to hit the area in recent memory, residents of New Brunswick are seeing waters slightly recede. For motorists, this means a partial re-opening of the Trans-Canada Highway in that province, though large swaths of it are still currently closed. Crews are monitoring the situation. During the past few days, when flooding was at its peak, over a hundred kilometres of highway was closed between the communities of Oromocto and River Glade. Today, just nine kilometres are shut, concentrated between markers 330 and 339. Employees of MRDC, the company tasked with maintaining this stretch of highway, are said to be discussing an engineered solution to prevent future flooding problems. MRDC Operations Corporation is a private contractor responsible for the maintenance, operation, and rehabilitation of the 195-km four-lane divided highway between Fredericton and Moncton. It’s the second year in a row the stretch (or part of it) was closed due to flooding. Water levels are gradually decreasing, though the Saint John River remains above flood stage as this time. Levels in Fredericton are projected to sit at just over 7 metres, half a metre above flood stage. In Saint John, levels are lower at 5.1 metres but its flood stage is only 4.2 metres. The provincial government keeps a website which tracks road closures, of which there are many, and a list of other important public advisories. At present, traffic on TCH Route 2 is detoured via Route 1 (Exit 423) and Route 7 (Exit 306 eastbound / Exit 114 westbound). Signage in place but given the length of the detour, motorists would be well advised to pad their travel times to account for the extra
Origin: New Brunswick flooding recedes slightly; Trans-Canada Highway reopening in sections