There won’t be a Santa Claus parade this year, but the removal of the WPD White Pines equipment starting Thursday is almost sure to draw a crowd.
CAO Marcia Wallace asked council on Tuesday night during their council meeting to approve a new route to allow for the removal of the equipment from the wind turbines project site.
The Quebec company removing the equipment was planning to use the same route to remove the equipment as was used to bring the equipment into the County, but because of construction on the Skyway bridge, some of the pieces are too heavy.
The Ministry of Environment has fast tracked the approvals changing the transport route from County Road 49 to County Road 62 beginning Thursday.
The equipment will move through Bloomfield and along part of Sandy Hook Road and across the bridge linking the County to Belleville.
Wallace says this in fact reduces the risk to the municipality.
“Now they are travelling way less County roads on their way out and they will be using the same approach in terms of paying us if they damage things.”
Staff will conduct premobilization surveys and may have staff monitoring along the route during the decommissioning to check for damage.
Wallace says it will take 18 trips for the equipment to be removed.
