ST. ANDREWS WEST – Some long term protection will be installed later this year to shield the historic stone wall surrounding the cemetery at the Catholic church in St. Andrews West.
Cornwall Newswatch has learned the Ministry of Transportation is considering the installation of bollards on the northwest corner of the intersection of County Road 18 and Highway 138 once the winter maintenance season ends.
The wall has been hit or clipped by large trucks at least twice – once in July 2015 and also in May 2014, causing several thousand dollars damage.
The bollards, which are steel or concrete posts, would be installed in the spring.
In a statement emailed to CNW, a ministry spokeswoman said visual markers have already been put on the utility poles next to the wall. Stop lines on southbound Highway 138 have been moved back to help trucks make right-hand turns to County Road 18.
Last summer, South Stormont Mayor Jim Bancroft went into an Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference hoping to find a long term solution for the fence and the problem intersection.
The Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall is the owner of the site and the constant damage has put a financial strain on the church.
The wall surrounding the cemetery has the grave sites of explorer Simon Fraser, Captain “Spanish” John MacDonell and John Sandfield Macdonald, the first Premier of Ontario.
