By Jim Bloch
“We will have that canal open next season.”
That was the announcement City Manager James Freed made at the end of the regular meeting of the Port Huron City Council, Sept. 23, regarding the Black River Canal.
The canal has been closed since last winter when a flood, triggered by an ice jam in the Black River, damaged the Tainter gate, the moveable structure used to regulate the flow of water from Lake Huron into the canal.
The jam caused the water to back up and reverse its normal direction, flowing from the river along the canal to Lake Huron instead of from Lake Huron along the canal to the river. The rushing water carried mounds of debris, including fallen trees, down the canal, damaging the Tainter gate.
“We have the bidding documents on line right now for those firms who want to bid on the coffer damming system,” said Freed, as heard on the recording of the meeting posted on YouTube.
A cofferdam is a structure built in a body of water that allows the water to be pumped out and construction work to take place in a dry area. When it is installed, the cofferdam will allow work on the gate to begin.
The straight blue line at the top of the map, which runs from Lake Huron to the Black River, is the canal.
The city will open the bids Oct. 3.
“We going to focus on price, but whatever firm can start as fast as possible is going to get it,” Freed said. “Once we get those coffer dams in — that work is going to flow really fast. My goal is to get it done early May, late April.”
The canal connects the southwestern shore of Lake Huron and the southeastern reaches of the Black River. It was dredged in 1912 in an effort to flush the polluted waters of the Black River into the St. Clair River.
Today, the main uses of the canal are recreational. Boaters use the canal as a shortcut to the lake. Known as the Island Loop Route National Water Trail, the 10 mile loop formed by the St. Clair River, Black River, canal and Lake Huron is regularly traversed by canoeists and kayakers.
“The mouth of the canal is going to look very different,” Freed said. “It’s going to have seawall between the Tainter gate and the bridge. The erosion is so high you have to build some seawall up to get the slope ratio rate right.”
In addition to building the coffer dam, the bid winner will remove the Tainter gate.
“The superstructure for the Tainter gate appears to be fine,” said Freed. “It’s looking like we’re going to manufacture a new, more durable Tainter gate that goes on it, so it can withstand getting hit by trees and flooding debris. They’re moving right along on that.”
Freed said the work could cost a million dollars.
The city removed the buildup of debris around the gate last spring. It was awarded a permit from Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to do the work.
“We are moving as fast as possible and we will have that Tainter gate open next season,” said Freed.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
