Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your weekend.
What’s the deal with those black pipes downtown?
The black pipes stretching along the surface of the Elm Street area between Paris Street and Durham Street are there to serve as a temporary water source while a watermain is being lined. The 100 mm pipes, encased in some locations by asphalt ramps to accommodate vehicles and pedestrians, are expected to remain in place until work is completed sometime in November. This work is being undertaken to extend the life of a cast-iron watermain built in 1946, which has a notable break history, city engineering services director David Shelsted told Sudbury.com. Rather than replace it, the city has opted to line the watermain using fibreglass and an epoxy resin, which allows them to extend the life of the pipe by approximately 50 years while minimizing disruption to the downtown. “In doing the lining, we don’t have to do a full open trench on Elm Street, which is beneficial for traffic disruption and the businesses that are there,” Shelsted said.
Monthly hospital 50/50 lottery paying big dividends in Sudbury
The popular monthly 50/50 lotto draw held in Sudbury each month has resulted in millions of dollars being spent on new medical equipment and patient care capital projects at Health Sciences North (HSN). Details outlined in a newly released 2021-2022 report said more than $6 million dollars has been invested back into supporting patient care and $9 million committed for future capital projects at HSN. HSN foundations said the monthly lottery funding helped in the following ways. -The purchase of a new MRI digital imaging machine and upgrading the existing MRI to improve patient outcomes, especially for those living with cancer, heart disease, Multiple Sclerosis and for the youngest of pediatric patients. The funding report said adding a new MRI and upgrading the existing MRI had one of the most significant impacts on patient care at HSN "The two operational MRIs are already making a difference to patients of all ages and disease types – creating more capacity to help reduce wait times, providing better imaging capabilities for more accurate diagnosis and treatment," said the report.
Cost to finish Gogama gold mine build skyrockets to nearly $2B
The cost to finish IAMGOLD’s troubled Côté gold mine project will be close to $2 billion. The Toronto gold company released a project update on the Gogama-area open-pit development project in the wake of a thorough project review started last March. In May, company management estimated it would take more than a billion dollars to complete construction and bring it into production. A new technical report issued by IAMGOLD now places that figure at $1.9 billion. The costs that are attributable to IAMGOLD are estimated at $1.2 to $1.3 billion, as of July 1. Sumitomo Metal Mining of Japan is a 30 per cent partner with IAMGOLD at Côté. Construction is just past the halfway mark at 57 per cent. At the beginning of the year, gold production was scheduled to start at the halfway of 2023. It’s now been pushed back to early 2024.
Faster internet speeds coming to area communities, province vows
Several somewhat remote areas surrounding Greater Sudbury will benefit from an Ontario government initiative to bring more reliable high-speed internet to more communities. The province said in a news release this week that up to 266,000 unserved and underserved homes and businesses will benefit from the initiative. The Doug Ford government has set a goal of connecting “every corner of the province by the end of 2025.” The $4-billion announcement was made by Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma. Slated to see improved internet access under the program in this area are the communities of: French River, Killarney, Markstay-Warren and St. Charles (Bell Canada); Greater Sudbury (Bragg Communications); West Nipissing (Cogeco Connexion), and; Spanish and the North Shore (Community Network Partners).
Mayoral candidate advocates for de-centralization of services
Pushing for a reinstated “sense of autonomy and efficiency,” mayoral candidate Miranda Rocca-Circelli wants to see the city investigate a decentralized model. The 2001 amalgamation of area municipalities that formed the City of Greater Sudbury in 2001 has carried “negligible” cost-savings and eroded a sense of community, she said in a media release issued this week. “The impact of the amalgamation on our citizens has reached a tipping point and we as a city need to take action to find options and solutions to serve the people who live in the amalgamated towns and restore their sense of belonging,” she said. The unique needs of citizens in each of the amalgamated towns needs to be identified, she said and services and programs delivered by the city need to be reviewed to single out which ones should be reallocated to outlying communities. By lobbying for decentralized services, she hopes to see the city “create a sense of community where our citizens feel they belong again.”
Barrydowne frustrations should finally be at an end
The bumper-to-bumper slow roll along Barrydowne Road is coming to a close this week as crews complete the final surface layer of asphalt – weather permitting. The southbound lanes’ final layer of asphalt was compacted Thursday and the northbound lanes’ surface was anticipated Friday, which will cap off the two-year project. Carrying a price tag of almost $6 million, the complete rebuild of Barrydowne Road, including curbs and sidewalks, started last summer, at which time COVID-related supply chain issues came into play and pushed its completion to this year. Affecting north of Westmount Avenue to The Kingsway, the project included the replacement/relining of underground infrastructure and a complete rebuild of the road surface. Walking Sudbury.com through the nearly completed construction site on Thursday, city engineering services director David Shelsted pointed out several approaches the contractor, Interpaving Ltd., has been undertaking with consultants Aecom.
Bomb threat forces courthouse evacuation
The investigation into a bomb threat at Sudbury Courthouse on Friday is ongoing. On the morning of Aug. 5, Greater Sudbury Police tweeted that the Elm Street courthouse had been evacuated following a bomb threat being phoned in. Officers scoured the building for several hours looking for a device before okaying staff to return to work. Police have not said if a device was actually found. Just that it was determined people could safely return to work. The investigation continues.
Sunny Saturday, showery Sunday
Expect a high of 28 today and a humidex value of around 36. There will be a mix of sun and cloud today with wind out of the southwest at 30 km/h, gusting to 50 in the morning. The UV index today is nine, or very high. Tonight, clouds will roll in and the temperature dip to 19. Tomorrow, expect showers and a high of 21, under cloudy skies. The clouds will stick around for tomorrow night as well, and bring more showers. The overnight low for Sunday is 13.
