A section of Coker Road, closed since last fall, could be opened sooner rather than later.

Director of Engineering and Infrastructure Greg Breen says a bit of work needs to be done to get the portion of road east of the Kelly Road ready to use.

“We have to do some basic maintenance…there is some grading that needs to take place,” Breen told Kenora city council at the Committee of the Whole meeting this week.

“The culverts need to be repaired so water can shift from one side of the road to the other, but doing those culvert repairs wouldn’t involve putting additional material on”.

Former mayor Dave Canfield also made a deputation about the state of Coker Road.

Canfield, who is also a resident of Coker Road, told council a weight restriction should be put on for any vehicle using that section of road.

“I would definitely recommend restricting any truck traffic…just basically passenger vehicles for this year at least…give the road a chance to settle.  See how it turns out next spring…see where the water levels are then you have an opportunity to put a bit of material in.”

City council is also looking at a the realignment of that section of the Coker Road, which could cost over $3 million, but that will be put over to 2024 budget discussions.

(Photos are from a report on the Coker Road submitted to the city by Stantec)