A portion of the Howard Watson Nature Trail is closed for the next several months as crews work to upgrade aging sewers in the area.
The trail is blocked off with concrete barriers south of Confederation Street as part of the city's $45 million sewer replacement project that got underway in 2016.
Sarnia Manager of Operation Services Bryan Prouse said they're constructing a 1.8-kilometre deep trunk sewer from the Bedford Pumping station, along the trail, all the way to the intersection of Plank and Indian roads.
"The existing system was built in the mid-1970s, and is overcapacity, running constantly and prone to failures. So, with the new work, we're looking forward to a 50-year engineered life."
Prouse expects that portion of the trail to be closed until at least the fall.
It will also be shut down north of Confederation Street from April until the end of the year.
Prouse urges area residents to be patient and be careful of heavy equipment that's likely to be in the area.
The project also includes a new pumping station at Plank Road and Indian Road, a new tunnel, and some work near the Water Pollution Control Centre on St. Andrew Street.
