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Storm damage repairs complete

Most of the work is completed on the $1.9-million project to repair erosion control damage along the highway caused by the Christmas Eve storm of 2003.
Work was done at nine sites, said project manager George Lomas of the Ministry of Transportation. 27,000 cubic metres of rip-rap have been laid out.
Contractor Rosco Ventures did five sites: Dress for Les, Jane's, Funk It, Cormorant Rock and St. Mary's. They began January 4 and were supposed to have completed the work by February 28, said Mr. Lomas. However, "it took longer than expected to develop the quarry and produce the size of rip-rap required," Mr. Lomas said, so that part of the project took until April 29 to complete.
Four of the sites-Davis Rd, Halibut Bight, Lawn Hill Creek and Alliford Bay-were repaired by day labour hired locally, said Mr. Lomas, along with some additional work at St. Mary's spring that wasn't in the original plan. The finishing touches are being put on work at St. Mary's and Alliford Bay.
The work began just over a year after the storm. It took that long for the Ministry to get a budget together and get a repair plan properly engineered, said Mr. Lomas.
The ministry is satisfied with the quality of the rip-rap and the work, said Mr. Lomas. Long-term, there may need to be additional erosion protection, but they're "done for now."