Gabarus seawall repairs almost complete
CBC News | Posted: January 26, 2014 7:53 PM | Last Updated: January 26, 2014
Repairs to Cape Breton's 70-year-old Gabarus seawall are almost complete.
The wood structure that protects the small village from the sea has been blasted by storms over the past few years and was at risk of collapse.
The village faced flooding if it failed.
The federal, provincial and municipal governments committed $700,000 to the project last fall.
Tim Menk is with a community group that's been lobbying for the repairs. He said the seawall has been covered with stone that will protect the community.
The federal government built the seawall in the 1940s. The wooden structure was last repaired in the 1980s.
"The fix has been to have a complete engineering plan that stabilizes the old seawall and provides a greater amount of protection by having had a massive amount of armour stone placed in front of the seawall," he said.
"The southern end of the seawall, which had had some scattered large armour stone placed in 1984, has now had more armour stone added to it, making that a more effective breakwater."
Menk expects the work to be completed in the next few weeks.