— B.C. Ministry of Transporation says no danger to cars or water main —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — OCTOBER 17, 2007) —
After concern by some that part of Main Street in downtown Osoyoos could collapse, or a water main could fail, the all-clear has been sounded.
The B.C. Ministry of Transportation has concluded that a crack in Main Street “ near construction of the Watermark resort in the centre of town “ is no cause for alarm.
The crack was first noticed by Darwin construction workers during their excavation work on the Watermark property about three weeks ago.
They notified the Town, which notified the Ministry of Transportation; because Main Street is actually part of Hwy. 3, its maintenance is the jurisdiction of the Province.
The street's east parking lane, stretching from Super Valu to Gyro Park, was then blocked off with pylons.
In order to have it properly assessed, we thought it prudent to block off the area where cars park in case it did fail, said Jeff Wiseman of the Ministry of Transportation in a phone interview from his Penticton office.
Whenever you see distress in pavement like this, it gets your attention.
The Town had infrastructure worries.
Our concern was the water main, said Osoyoos Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Helen Koning of the main under Main.
Councillor Allan Carswell confirmed that for a short time, the Town took the precautionary step of decreasing the water main's pressure.
All you needed was that pipe to blow . . . Carswell said.
However, the Ministry and Watermark engineers agree the crack poses no danger with regards to safety or infrastructure. Wiseman told the Osoyoos Times Friday the pylons will soon be removed, and the seemingly innocuous crack will be repaired once underground work on the Watermark site is complete.
