Work begins on replacement of a steel culvert under the road that has become weak with age and started to collapse. Jonathan Bourgon, infrastructure services director for Russell Township, anticipates no problems with getting the culvert replacement done within a reasonable time.

“It (road) will be reopened in August,” Bourgon said.

The steel culvert due for replacement is located on the section of Route 300 between the St-Pierre Road and St-Augustin Road intersections. The culvert was installed in the early 1990s and has an estimated 20- to 30-year lifespan before metal fatigue and rust starts to take a toll.

Bourgon’s department had contracted the replacement work to begin the first week of July. Then part of the road above the culvert showed signs of sagging in May.

Rescheduling of the culvert work to an earlier date was not possible because some of the materials needed for the job wouldn’t be available sooner due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Nothing could happen before the original July replacement scheduled date so barricades were set up to prevent all traffic except for the fire station trucks from using the road.

Bourgon noted that there are no residences or other buildings located on that section of road except for the fire hall. Fire fighter crews took care when going out on calls to avoid driving over the portion of the road where the culvert was located.