The City of Courtenay will be installing a permanent concrete flood control barrier along the Old Island Highway. The new barriers, referred to as a “Tall Wall”, look similar to the existing concrete barricades on this section of highway, with one important difference. When grouted and locked together, the barriers will form a complete water-tight seal. Each Tall Wall barrier section is 1.25 metres high and weighs almost 10,000 lbs. The total cost for the upgrade, including removal of the old wall, is $110,000. David Allen, the City of Courtenay’s Chief Administrative Officer, says the new barricade is another important tool in the city’s flood control arsenal, geared at maintaining important transportation links as long as possible and mitigating flooding in low-lying areas, particularly the Puntledge Business District. “The new Tall Wall on this section of the Old Island Highway will also free up several sections of the Aqua Dam for use elsewhere,” added Allen. “This will allow crews to set up the Aqua Dam around the Lewis Centre parking lot, stage, and outdoor pool, all the way to the Lewis Centre facility itself.” Once the Tall Wall is in place, crews will no longer need to close lanes on the Old Island Highway for Aqua Dam deployment and removal. On Wednesday, November 23 and Thursday, November 24 between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, the Old Island Highway between Headquarters Road and Ryan Road will be reduced to single-lane northbound traffic only. Southbound traffic will be detoured via posted side streets.