It is not one of Ontario’s most famous bridges, but the Canal Lake Concrete Arch Bridge holds a special place in the history of this country’s concrete structures. Located on the Trent-Severn waterway system between Balsam Lake and Lake Simcoe, it’s affectionately known to summer visitors in the area as the ‘Hole-in-the-Wall Bridge’ because of its appearance: a single arch braced by abutments on either shore.
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With offices reopening and operations returning to normal, many wonder how the future of work will take shape. It’s a different answer for every industry, and a more complicated one for the aggregate industry where teams are split between the office and the field.
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The control of fugitive dust at aggregate sites is something that members of the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (OSSGA) take very seriously. From the licensing process through to final rehabilitation, operators must consider the potential impacts of fugitive dust and ensure that “dust is mitigated onsite,” a phrase embedded in the conditions on almost every site plan.
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Equally important is the image producers portray to the communities located in the vicinity of their pits and quarries. Public consultation and ongoing relationships are vital in order to reduce the negative stigma of the sites and affirm aggregate producers as members of the community, like any other business. It isn’t always easy, but it is critical to a site’s success.
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Rehabilitation of a pit or quarry is the process of restoring the land from which aggregate has been extracted to either its former use or to a new use or condition compatible with the surrounding landscape. Aggregate extraction is an interim land use. Once aggregate is extracted from a pit or quarry, the site is rehabilitated into productive wildlife habitat, wetlands, golf courses, recreational parks, urban uses, conservation lands, forestry or agriculture.
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Comprising more than 180 buildings, the University of Toronto campus in the heart of downtown Toronto is almost a museum of local architectural styles and building techniques. Its structures include far more than classrooms and offices.
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Climate change is here. What were once infrequent events like flooding, drought and heat waves are happening every year. Average annual temperatures in Ontario have increased and are expected to continue increasing by 2.5 to 3.7°C by 2050. This is expected to have significant environmental, economic and health implications, and the aggregate industry is not immune to these impacts.
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In the case of OSSGA member Fowler Construction, the producer recently took its own steps towards a greener world at its Rosewarne Quarry in Bracebridge. The company’s Rosewarne Power Conversion Project, completed in June 2021, involved converting the diesel generator powering its crusher operations to electricity supplied by the local electric utility, Lakeland Power.
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