3.2 BROADWAY DRAIN AND DRAINAGE CHANNEL  

No Aquatic SAR have been identified for the Broadway Drain or the drainage channel. The Channel Darter prefers the sandy nearshores of lakes Erie and St. Clair, and streams with sand and gravel bottoms. Based on the information gathered from the existing conditions reports, it is highly unlikley that any Aquatic SAR present in the Detroit River would occupy either of these watercourses due to unsuitable habitat conditions.

4. BROADWAY DRAIN REALIGNMENT AND DRAINAGE CHANNEL INFILLING

4.1

SCOPE AND PURPOSE

In general, substantial channel enhancements and realignment of the Broadway Drain are proposed in order to accommodate the increased runoff that will result from the development of the bridge plaza, perimeter access road (PAR), and the diversion of the run-off from lands that formerly outlet to Healy Drain to the Broadway Drain.

It is important to point out that diversion of storm run-off to the Broadway Drain is required due to the significant alterations to local site grading that is associated with the bridge plaza development. It should also be noted that a large majority of the existing Healy Drain will be occupied by the new bridge plaza, and will therefore be abandoned as further discussed in the Fisheries Plan for Healy Drain in Appendix B.

The portion of the drainage channel that conveys flows north-south along former Water Street will be infilled from the southern limit of the channel to Chappus Street (see Figure 2). This portion will be infilled to accommodate the utility gas line that follows the PAR.

4.2

PROPOSED WORKS OVERVIEW

Details pertaining to both the horizontal and vertical realignment of the Broadway Drain can be found in the Contract Drawings for Broadway and Healy Drain Improvements found in Appendix A. Two new culverts are required to maintain access to lands that are located south of the new Broadway Drain, one to service the Windsor Port Authority (WPA) lands and another to service lands owned by the City of Windsor. Due to the separation distance between the required crossing locations, it was not feasible to install a single, shared crossing.

The WPA crossing will need to be wide enough to accommodate industrial type traffic (i.e. large trucks). A culvert length of 16 m was found to be sufficient for this crossing. The City of Windsor crossing needed to have sufficient width to accommodate normal size vehicles and maintenance equipment. A culvert length of 10 m is proposed for this location. In order to provide sufficient conveyance capacity, the proposed culverts will have a minimum span and height of 3 m and 2.5 m, respectively and will be embedded a minimum of 10%. The proposed location, configuration, and further design details for the proposed crossings are illustrated in the drawings found in Appendix A.

The realigned Broadway Drain channel will outlet in close proximity to its current location, though slightly south. The invert of the new drain will tie into the Detroit River at an elevation below its current state to allow unobstructed flow. Consequently, in order to provide proper outlet conditions, it will be necessary to extend the channel beyond water’s edge which requires a rock jetty to extend into the Detroit River. Details for the outlet of Broadway Drain at the Detroit River can be found in the design drawings in Appendix A.

As noted above, as part of the new Broadway Drain Realignment, a rock jetty will be constructed at the mouth of the new drain and extend into the Detroit River. The intention of the jetty is to protect the new Broadway Drain outlet to ensure that a back-eddy does not form in this area of the Detroit River. It is important to note that the Broadway Drain South Jetty will be constructed in coordination with in-water works planned on the neighbouring property which his located immediately up-river of the Broadway Drain realignment. The Kennett Property is currently undertaking the permanent shoreline infilling of the Detroit River in phases, and as a result of this work, the total extent that the Broadway Drain South Jetty projects into the Detroit River is not yet known as it will be determined by the extent of the shoreline infilling occurring on the Kennett Property. For the purposes of assessment of impacts within this Fish Plan, the total extent of the Jetty shown in the design