Corduroy road found under King Street in Waterloo to be removed
Archaeologist has completed documenting historic road
The corduroy road that was discovered beneath King Street in Waterloo will be removed to allow LRT construction to move forward.
Senior archaeologist Charlton Carscallen and his team finished their documentation of the historic road on Tuesday and will be filing a report to the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and Culture, according to Avril Fisken, Grandlinq spokeswoman.
"Understanding the concerns a prolonged delay will have on ION LRT construction and businesses in uptown Waterloo, the lead archaeologist has worked closely with the ministry throughout the investigation, allowing us to begin to remove the corduroy road on completion of the documentation process," Fisken said in an email.
Crews will begin to remove the soil that surrounds the corduroy road this week. After that, the corduroy road itself will be removed.
One of the first roads in region
During a press conference earlier this month, Carascallen said the corduroy road dates back two centuries and is likely one of the first roads built by Euro-Canadian settlers in the region.
It is made of logs and sand laid tightly together to form a path, and was likely used in a wet area, such as a swamp or wetland.
Before ION LRT construction began, Fisken said they were told that they could run into a corduroy road under King Street.
Impact to LRT construction unknown
Construction stopped on March 11, when crews discovered logs under the asphalt.
Fisken said it is still too early to determine how the discovery of the corduroy road will impact Grandlinq's schedule, adding that double-shifts could be required to make up for lost time.
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She also said construction crews were re-assigned to other LRT projects during the delay on King, and that this would help keep the overall construction schedule on track.