Hydrant history

Watching the troops leave for the European front and the victory parades pass by in both world wars it stood at attention.

While crews worked on the Prince Arthur Hotel in 1911 it was there, ready at a moment’s notice should something go wrong. When the king and queen came along in 1939, there it was to hold up a child so they could see over the heads of the crowd.

Naturally, the fire hydrant near the corner of Red River Road and Cumberland Street has also been the neighborhood urinal for countless dogs since it was put there in 1910. The hydrant will be history itself soon, replaced as part of major construction upgrades on the intersection starting next week.

The city will also be removing another part of Thunder Bay’s past with anticipated streetcar tracks, which ceased operation in 1948, to be found in the intersection.

"You probably won’t have to go far to find those (tracks). There’s some visually protruding right now," city project engineer Rick Harms said near the intersection Tuesday.

The hydrant, one of about 200 to be replaced in an ongoing effort by the city to replace old hydrants, and tracks will likely not be salvaged.

"They’re more or less just scrapped," Harms said.

The $140,000 project will see a complete rebuild of traffic signals, manholes and wiring.

It will also include new pedestrian controlled signals and audio for the visually impaired. New pavement in the intersection will be laid down and sidewalk ramps will also be replaced.

Harms said the project could take up to seven weeks.

"We hope to be done in time for the Miles with the Giant race," Harms said.
That race starts and ends near the intersection Sept. 18.

Starting Tuesday, the city had flashing reds on the traffic signals with four-way stop signs coming on Thursday.

Those will stay up until the project is complete. While there won’t be a full closure of the intersection, Harms said people should expect lane restrictions.

On-street parking near the intersection will not be permitted during construction.