NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. — The Cape Breton Regional Municipality has issued a tender for the supply and placement of armour rock in areas of Sydney Mines and North Sydney to help protect against shoreline erosion.
Dist. 1 Coun. Clarence Prince said in an interview that increasingly severe storms are taking a toll on shoreline areas.
The work will consist of the supply, loading, trucking, off-loading and placement of about 1,000 tonnes of armour rock to be placed over the embankment on selected locations at Shore Road, Sydney Mines and Purves Street in North Sydney.
“We’re certainly concerned coastal erosion on that particular stretch of highway, it’s becoming increasingly worse over the years and that’s why we’ve been paying some attention to it by putting armour stone there,” Prince said.
“It seems like the recent storms, the fierceness of them, is really starting to inch away (the coastline) … We’re concerned about it getting closer to the main road.”
Prince said it is an expensive endeavour but it’s the best way of protecting the roadway.
“The storms that we’ve been getting recently, the bloody water is coming over certain sections of the road and you saw the damage that it did around the Indian Beach area,” Prince said. “It’s becoming worrisome, that’s for sure.”
The tender states that the intent “is to protect the embankment to a height above that subject to wave action (approximately 20 feet).”
Prince said he’s glad to see the tender called, noting the road is well-travelled.
The armour rock is to be hard, durable field or quarry stone, free from any splits, seams or defects that are likely to impair its soundness during handling or by the action of water and ice. Shale, slate or rocks with thin foliation will not be acceptable.
The tender states that the rock will not be “end-dumped” over the embankment at the site.
“All material shall be individually manipulated into position by crane, sling or other device approved by the Cape Breton Regional Municipality,” the tender reads. “Due to site conditions the Cape Breton Regional Municipality may permit 'free-fall’ of material providing it is not detrimental to the stone and final resting location is appropriate and secure.
The tender closes Feb. 20.
