Coal mining shafts abandoned more than a century ago could cause delays to a major revitalization project in downtown Nanaimo.
The city announced Monday that the intersection at Bastion and Commercial streets will be closed for nearly two months starting Jan. 2 as crews conduct drilling and grouting to fill sub-surface voids left by old coal mines. The area was an active coal mine from 1854 to 1938.
Pedestrian access will be maintained, but drivers will have to detour around the intersection.
The work involves water main replacement and is part of the Design Commercial: Phase One project area from Diana Krall Plaza on Wharf Street to Chapel Street.
The construction has had an impact on local establishments.
“A lot of businesses are definitely feeling the strain,” said Connor Welsh, general manager of the Modern Diner on Commercial Street.
Welsh estimated that sales have been down by nearly half since the project started in September, but Modern Diner, like a lot of other businesses, is trying to stay positive about the end result.
“I think when it it’s all finished, hopefully by May, it’s going to be a real improvement,” said Welsh.
There are five phases to the Design Commercial project, which is rebuilding Commercial Street downtown from Tideline Park to Dallas Square Park. Phase 2 will see a remake of Diana Krall Plaza, while Phase 3 will involve Albert Street to Terminal Avenue. Phase 4 will go from Terminal to Skinner,` and the last phase will include Chapel Street and Dallas Square Park.
Planning for the Design Commercial project started in 2022. A new concrete roadway is designed to slow vehicles and there will be several pedestrian crossings. A painted Pride intersection at Commercial and Bastion is planned and the road will have retractable bollards, heritage street lights, new bike racks, new soil cells for trees and plantings and new waste receptacles.
The city has known of the coal mines downtown — and several other parts of the city — and confirmed voids along Commercial Street about three metres below the surface after drilling in the area last year.
“Investigative drilling … revealed voids which need to be remediated for the safety of the work crews, to protect underground utilities and to minimize the potential for future depressions forming in the roadway,” the city said in a statement on Monday.
Crews will pump a wet grout into the voids that will harden and stabilize the void areas.
According to the city, there are coal mine workings beneath about 13 square kilometres of Nanaimo’s 93 square kilometre area. Coal mining was a going concern in the city and on nearby Protection Island from 1852 to 1964.
The city said that while construction is underway in the downtown area free two-hour parking is in place along most of Commercial Street as well as on levels 2 and 3 of the Bastion Street Parkade to help the downtown businesses.
Mayor Leonard Krog thanked the public for their patience.
“Construction and detours are admittedly some of the least favourite words in our city’s vocabulary, and yet, it’s impossible to keep up to our city’s growing infrastructure needs without them,” said Krog.
