Chris Lowrey
MUNICIPALITY OF PONTIAC Nov. 25, 2017
Residents of the Municipality of Pontiac will have to deal with yet another road closure after a sinkhole opened up on Ch. de la Montagne.
Although it is much smaller than the sinkhole on Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa, this one has caused headaches nonetheless.
The sinkhole opened up on Chemin de la Montagne on Nov. 25 between ch. Cregheur and ch. Townline.

The cause of the sinkhole has not yet been determined, but it could be related to the recent flooding in the municipality and a culvert that is in need of repairs.
Engineers were on site on Nov. 27 to evaluate the next course of action.
Pontiac MNA André Fortin was on site with Municipality of Pontiac Mayor Joanne Labadie to evaluate the damage.
When asked about what he saw, Fortin was blunt:
“Well, it looks like a big hole in the middle of the road,” he said.
Fortin said that the municipality has been hard hit with infrastructure damage after the flooding in the spring and fall. He also said this kind of damage will be more prevalent with the repercussions of climate change.
Fortin said that the municipality was planning on upgrading the roadway next year, after two different stretches of the roadway were re-paved this year.
“They did two other chunks of Mountain Road this year but that was the one that was left over for next year,” Fortin said.
As of press time, the municipality had not yet determined it’s course of action and will have an update later in the week.
However, Municipality of Pontiac Director of Communications, Dominic Labrie, said the culvert doesn’t need to be replaced this winter since it was scheduled for replacement next year.
He said the goal is to have the road opened in the next few days or weeks.