The Rotary Club of Sarnia-Bluewaterland is asking for patience and understanding as crews work to restore the stone walkway at the flag plaza just north of the Blue Water Bridge.
Fencing currently surrounds the area, closing off the path, made up of red and white stones to celebrate the life of a loved one, a milestone birthday, anniversary, or even a club sponsor.
Flag Plaza Chair Pat Voegelin understands the inconvenience, because he said the international plaza is meaningful to people from all over the world.
"Our flag plaza has been in place since 2004," said Voegelin. "But, a lot of people do not know that the plaza is on land owned by the water treatment plant. The water treatment plant became aware of the fact that the seawall was falling apart and it needed to be changed and that's the work that has been going on."
Voegelin said unfortunately, the construction has impacted the plaza.
(A fence surrounds the Rotary Club of Sarnia-Bluewaterland Flag Plaza near the Blue Water Bridge. May 2, 2023. Photo by Melanie Irwin)
"A good portion of the north end of the plaza had to be dismantled to deal with the heavy equipment needed to complete the seawall," he said.
Photos were taken of the plaza before the work began so the stones can be reestablished as they once were.
"We had about 40 of the large grey piazza stones break and with the records that we keep within the club I've got the designs for all of those stones," Voegelin said. "We have worked with our contractor that does our design and sandblasting of the stones. They are aware and have the list of all the stones that are going to have to be replaced and that process is ongoing at this time."
Voegelin said the plaza restoration, including replacement of broken stones, was included in the seawall construction contract.
"All of the partners in this project, the Lambton Area Water Supply System [LAWSS], the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority [SCRCA], the contractor and our club are all aware of the importance of the plaza and are working very hard to get it restored so that people can, once again, enjoy the plaza and enjoy the opportunity to walk down by the water," he said.
Voegelin said the club is devoting all of its energy to rebuilding the plaza right now and hopes to start accepting new stone requests again in 2024.
"We have put new stone requests and new stone installation on hold at this point in time because our priority is to get the existing plaza back," he said.
Voegelin didn't have a date for when the project is expected to be complete, but said updates on plaza activity are being posted to their website.
The flag plaza was constructed to honour first responders, two years after one was built across the St. Clair River in the United States in memory of those who died during the September 11 attacks.