RegentRocks

By Angela Gemmill

Highway 537 is open and safe to drive on after a rock fall last week near Wanup.

The Ministry of Transportation calls the incident “an anomaly”.

The rockfall forced the closure of the road so crews could first clear away about 20-truck-loads of debris and then make repairs to the asphalt.

Northeast Media Rep Gordan Rennie says MTO engineers have inspected the site to make sure there isn’t any further risk.

He calls last week’s rock fall unique since it happened on a newer portion of roadway.

Most rock deterioration is due to rain or erosion over time, so that rules out the cause in the Highway 537 rock fall.

They’re still trying to determine what caused it and have an expert checking out the site.

The MTO regularly checks rock hazards along provincial highways.

Rennie says if any rocks fall, even just a little bit, MTO maintenance compiles a report and then Ministry engineers review the area to see if any work needs to be done.

Newer provincial highways are designed so if rock falls from nearby rock formations it won’t fall on the road.

(Picture: Crews clean up a rock fall from Regent Street in Greater Sudbury from October 2014)