Saskatoon may have to cut its losses and permanently close the portion of Saskatchewan Crescent collapsing into the riverbank, a University of Saskatchewan geology professor says.
Brian Pratt has been monitoring several riverbank slope failures and says rebuilding the road on Saskatchewan Crescent, which has collapsed two more metres since last week, would be an ongoing task for years to come.
The slope failure is Mother Nature’s doing, he says.
“All the way down the river — from Beaver Creek, where it’s quite steep, all the way to Saskatoon —there’s dozens of these,” Pratt told CTV News.
Saskatchewan Crescent is collapsing so quickly at 16th Street because of the weight of the pavement, he said.
“It’s fairly sandy here and so it’s not very cohesive, so it just fails.”
Mayor Don Atchison said last week engineers would be brought in to evaluate the slump and come up with a solution to fix the collapse. He said rebuilding work will likely begin in the late summer or early fall.
Pratt says attempting to fix the road would be a waste of money.
“Probably no amount of engineering is going to save this street,” Pratt said.
Homeowner Randy Penner, who built two houses in front of the now-collapsed area, says he’s confident his homes are secure because they are built on clay. The road is built on silt.
His main concern is getting the street fixed in a timely fashion.
