THUNDER BAY – The demolition of the former Oddfellows Hall will interrupt traffic in the downtown south core for up to a week.
May Street South is scheduled to be closed between Donald and George streets, starting on Friday morning. A city official estimates the closure is likely going to be in place until Jan. 15, in order to allow crews to remove materials from the site.
Demolition is expected to take place this weekend.
The east sidewalk will also be closed to the public, while the west-side sidewalk will remain open in order to facilitate pedestrian movement and businesses to continue to operate.
“The actual demolition, once started is expected to take approximately 12 hour to bring the structure to the ground, the hauling of materials will begin Monday and continue until all materials are removed and back-fill materials are in place. Some finishing work may be required to be completed in the spring due to ground frost conditions and other environmental factors,” said Doug Vincent, the city’s manager of licensing and enforcement division in an email response.
The Oddfellows Hall, which had been ordered closed in 2019, was destroyed by fire last March.
