Compromised hydro pole closes Oak Bay road

Hydro crews were on scene today (March 26) at the corner of Cadboro Bay Rd. and Bowker Ave. to conduct an emergency removal of a hydro pole after “it became unsecured and was at risk of falling over,” said Sgt. Chris Goudie, Oak Bay police.

At approximately 1:15 p.m., there was a shift in the the shotcrete shoring that was used to stabilize a wall on the excavated construction site of Abstract’s Bowker Collection development.

Traffic should also stay clear of Cadboro Bay Rd and Bowker while crews work to make area safe after hydro pole peeled off sidewalk and slid into Abstract construction site. #oakbay #yyjtraffic pic.twitter.com/EFAt4N680i

— Oak Bay News (@OakBayNews) March 26, 2018

Emergency services were contacted, the sidewalk was immediately closed, and the building site secured.

“As always, our first priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of those working on the site and those in the immediately surrounding area,” said Kyle Ryan, chief operating officer at Abstract. “Immediately upon being made aware of the shifting, teams worked to close the site and the adjacent sidewalk as to ensure the general public would not be impacted by the structural compromise.”

Cadboro Bay Road was closed for much of the afternoon as BC Hydro worked to remove the pole and secure the remaining hydro lines. The road opened again shortly after 4 p.m..

“Teams acted as quickly and effectively as they are trained to do under an occurrence like this. We are currently working with Ryzuk Geotechnical to determine the cause of the shifting,” said Ryan.

Ryzuk Geotechnical inspected the shoring to determine the cause of the shifting and evaluated what remediation would be required to fix and complete it. A report on the cause is coming.

In additional to the BC Hydro and Ryzuk Geotechnical assessments, Abstract’s safety officer is completing an independent investigation to better understand why the shotcrete shoring shifted.

Hydro is expected to return to the site tomorrow to look at the location and re-establish the hydro pole.