About the Blog:

Guelph Politico is locally sourced and dedicated to covering the political and cultural scene in the City of Guelph. Est. 2008.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Just When You Thought it Was Safe to Drive Down Wyndham...

The news on the weekend that another truck scraped the roof of the train bridge that runs parallel to Carden Street seems to have forced a city shut down of Wyndham Street between Carden and Wellington. This is sure to be unpleasant news for people who do business in and around that intersection, but given that this isn't the first time that the roof's been a little too low despite the stated clearance, it's going to be another needle in the city's back concerning just how well the entire reconstruction project around Carden was handled.
Here's the city's press release:
Guelph, ON, October 21, 2013 – Wyndham Street is temporarily closed between Carden Street and Wellington Street while the City reviews solutions to ensure transport truck operators understand the available clearance under the CN Railway bridge.
Since the City installed crash beams on the bridge, as required by CN Rail, five commercial transport trucks travelling under the bridge have scraped bottom of the beam.
There were no injuries as a result of these minor incidents but, to prevent further clearance issues, the City temporarily closed a section of Wyndham Street. This closure will be in effect until further notice.
“Wyndham Street is not a designed truck route, but transports sometimes use the street to make local deliveries downtown,” said Don Kudo, interim general manager of Engineering Services. “We’ve closed the road until we find better ways to warn truck operators about the available clearance under the CN Railway bridge.”
The City is working with Guelph Police Service and CN Railway and will update the community about plans to ensure the available clearance under the Wyndham Street bridge is understood by all users.
The bridge is structurally sound, will continue to be used by train traffic, and pedestrians can travel beneath it safely.

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