AMHERST – Advocate Harbour residents could get news on their beleagured seawall on Thursday.
Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea is expected to be in the community for an 11 a.m. announcement that could be related to repairs to the seawall that was damaged by a winter storm in December 2008.
“There will be an announcement in Advocate Harbour later this week,” Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MP Scott Armstrong said Tuesday after announcing funding for Cumberland County’s transition house in Amherst. “It’s something that has been a long time coming and I think the people of Advocate Harbour will be very pleased following the announcement.”
Armstrong would not say what will be announced in the community but it’s believed the minister could announce a $2-million project to repair and upgrade the seawall including the placing of stable armour rock, a timber crib and ramps. Two armour rock groynes should help lessen the risk of major flooding.
“That issue has been a priority for me since the election. I have worked very closely with Minister Shea on that issue and she was here during the byelection to see it for herself. We were able to do a feasibility study and we’ve been working hard in Ottawa to allocate funding for this project and hopefully we’ll have some good news when the minister comes here on Thursday morning,” Armstrong said.
Last spring, the federal government announced an engineering assessment that looked at the adequacy of the area’s natural sea barrier and the underlying soil conditions.
The findings of that assessment were presented to the community in November.
