“No one wanted this – it’s making the best of a terrible situation,” Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland
Emotions ranged from understanding to furious after residents of Pebble Beach in Cobourg were notified that they will be secluded in the coming days.
Because heavy machinery is being brought in to work on a critical stage of the culvert along King Street West, it was announced by a sign board on Tuesday, September 9, 2025 the road will be closed from September 11-13 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
There are approximately 100 homes in the area and residents were only given 48-hours notice of the closure that comes with periodic power outages.
Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland and CAO Tracey Vaughan were only notified on Monday and by Tuesday, numerous departments were scrambling to notify residents.
Pebble Beach resident Ken Strauss first got wind of the road closure on social media, then drove to the construction area where he saw the sign.
“I’m not a happy boy.”
Straus says he frequently has evening meetings and is guessing that he will leave the car on one side of the construction site and walk home.
“I think it’s pretty bloody awful. There are people that need to go to work.”
“Many people have electrical appliances including freezers and sump-pumps and according to the sign the power is going to be off which is not a good thing for your freezer or flooding.”
Strauss is wondering about if he or someone has a medical episode during the road closure.
“I don’t think we’ve given any thought to the public safety concerns that are related to this.”
Calling it a “disaster,” Strauss said there are many questions unanswered.
Shortly after interviewing Strauss a fleet of senior town staff arrived on scene to hand out pamphlets to all residents of Pebble Beach.
Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland, CAO Tracey Vaughan, Director of Public Works Laurie Wills, members of the Cobourg Fire Department and other staff went door-to-door with the pamphlets.
Wills said with the construction taking place for months, and with the roadway being down to a single lane for the culvert replacement, the frustration is understandable.
“We are at a very critical milestone with this culvert, where the actual sections of the large culvert are arriving on Thursday night.
“We are minimizing the inconvenience to the people that live down here by only closing down the road overnight instead of during the day.”
Half of the culvert will be completed those days with the second half taking place again in a couple of weeks where the road will be shut down again.
One of the complications that will be taking place with the large crane which spans the entire width of the road will be under the hydro wires which necessitates intermittent power outages.
“We can’t guarantee the length of the shutdown but we will keep it as short as possible.”
People who need their vehicles can park them outside the construction zone and they will be shuttled to and from their homes as needed.
Wills said that an ambulance, fire truck and police vehicle will be on the west side of the bridge/culvert in case of emergency.
Other than the short notice, Wills said the road closure would have come at some point anyway due to the construction and heavy equipment being brought in.
“We’ve been trying to work with the contractor on a delivery date, but we didn’t know the exact delivery date of the culvert until Monday.”
Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland was one of the staff talking to residents and said it was a “all hands on deck” afternoon.
“Construction is about navigating issues.”
The pieces that will be put into place in the coming days are four metres by three metres of solid concrete weighing 5,000 to 7,000 pounds.
The culvert had a life expectancy of 2025 and “landing the right equipment at the right time is a planning nightmare especially in a development time when cranes of a hotly sought after items.”
Looking at other options to having the road closed overnight, Cleveland said the risk was higher.
“When we’re talking about safety, culverts and timing – there is no good time to do this.”
With only half of the culvert being installed this coming week, the same process will happen in the coming weeks.
“To do it all at once, would require two to three weeks of no access. So that was the reason we did it this way.”
Cleveland clearly stated, “we know this isn’t good. But at the end of the day this work needed to be done and there is no better way to do this work.”
Now that emergency services are aware of the situation, Cleveland said he has “faith they are taking the proper steps to know that they can meet their mandated requirements.”
As for who pays for additional costs regarding town staff, Cleveland said right now the priority is on getting the job done.
“Once this is finished, then we begin the process of pulling it apart to find out whose responsible for what costs.”
Construction Notice: King Street West Culvert Replacement
Vehicle Restriction and Intermittent Electricity Shut Off
8pm Thursday Sept 11th – 6am Friday Sept 12th
8pm Friday Sept 12th – 6am Saturday Sept 13th
The contractor. KB Civil Constructors Inc. (KB) are continuing with the replacement of the King Street West culvert this week. The next stage of construction involves the installation of the northern half of the new culvert. Because of limited space for the north stage of culvert installation, electrical service and vehicle access will be affected due to crane operations and delivery of the large culvert.
Intermittent Electricity Shut Off:
For the safety of workers, the power lines will be de-energized at the site which will shut off power to your home intermittently throughout the night. Lakefront Utility staff will remain on site throughout the evening and will only disconnect the electricity when required
KB have been made aware that homes in this neighbourhood are on sump pumps and will ensure that individual power outages will be minimized.
Restricted Vehicle and Pedestrian Access:
Regular vehicle and pedestrian traffic will not be permitted through the construction site between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on the evenings of September 11th and 12th.
Those who require in-and-out access to their homes between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. please call 905-269-4889 and the Town of Cobourg will arrange transportation services.
Emergency Services Access:
The Town of Cobourg is working in consultation with local emergency services to ensure emergency access to the neighbourhood is maintained. The Cobourg Fire Department will station apparatus within the site overnight in case of an emergency.
Questions and Accommodations:
For questions about the King Street West Culvert Replacement project, or if you require additional accommodations, please contact the Town of Cobourg at T: 905-269-4889
Email: capitalprojects@cobourg.ca
Weather Delay:
Please note, contractors require optimal weather conditions for this next phase of the construction. If there is substantial rain this week, work may be required to be delayed.
Next Steps:
There will be a second stage required for the culvert replacement on the southern side of King Street West in a few weeks’ time. Another notice will be provided with details prior to the second stage of work being completed.
Thank you for your continued patience as we work to complete this important infrastructure project for the Town of Cobourg.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
