A $140-million dollar Hamilton Harbour cleanup project is moving into a new phase.
Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Catharine McKenna has toured Randle Reef, where a structure is being built to contain 5,000 cubic metres of coal tar and other pollutants.
The site is approximately 120 football fields in size and contains enough contaminated sediment to fill a major hockey arena three times over.
McKenna stresses that she looks forward to the project’s completion in 2022, adding that “my goal is to go swimming here with my kids.”
Randle Reef is often referred to as the largest contaminated underwater site on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes.
Project Manager Jon Gee adds that construction of the double-walled containment structure is nearing completion, and phase two, the dredging of contaminated sediment, will begin this summer.
He adds that the project is currently “on time and on budget.”
Funding partners include the federal and provincial governments, as well the cities of Hamilton and Burlington, the Region of Halton, the Hamilton Port Authority and Stelco.