Moncton and CN to replace ancient culvert blamed for flooding

The City of Moncton announced Monday night that it finally has a deal with CN to replace the inadequate culvert from the late 1800's that has led to several floods in the city during heavy rain storms.

Jack MacDonald, Moncton'schief engineer, says the latest flooding happened in Dec., 2014 when 134 millimetres of rain fell within 24hours.

"We were very close before the flood event to havinga signed MOU[memorandum of understanding] but we now do have asigned MOUwith CN," MacDonald told council.

He says the city has been working on the CN file for several years and now that there is a deal, work to improve other inadequate culverts on West Main Street,St. George Boulevard and WestbrookCirclecan also go ahead.

MacDonald says the proposed solution for the CN culvert is a new pipe that is 3.6 metres or 12 feet in diametrewhich will replace the ancient culvert that sits under the train tracks, between Main Street and the Petitcodiac River.

Work will begin in the spring of 2015.

"The hope would be the CN issue would be out of the way by the fall of 2016," MacDonald said.

Other culverts to also be replaced

MacDonald says now that there is a deal, work to improve other inadequate culverts on West Main Street,St. George Boulevard andWestbrookCirclecan also go ahead.

He says representatives from the provincial Department of Transportation have always said they are prepared to help the city replacethe other culverts along Jonathan Creek.

He hopes they will all be replaced by 2017.

City council voted on Monday night to begin talks with the province.

There have been six major floods in Moncton in the past 90 years with the first one on record in 1927, and the worst flooding in 1999.