State of emergency lifted for Erie Shore Drive

A state of emergency has been lifted for Erie Shore Drive the stretch of road along Lake Erie that was closed in February, forcing residents to move out in a hurry.

Chatham-Kent council passed a bylaw this weekto reopen the roadexclusively for those residents.

Mayor Darrin Canniff saidthe first phase of repairs went all right.

"Four weeks ago, when we asked people to leave, we told them that there's a possibility that you might not be able to get back to your place for next 12 to 18 months, and that was because we were uncertain whether we could maintain a road after the repairs or not," said the mayor.

"We worked real hard to get the repairs done, and over about a three-week period, and we were able to preserve the road enough that residents would actually have access."

WATCH| A timeline of the deterioration of Erie Shore Drive:

Timeline of Erie Shore Drive deterioration

5 years ago

Duration 1:07

A combination of storm surges and rising lake levels have led to more flooding events since March of 2016. around the Erie Shore Drive area.

Though the road is open to residents, the mayor said it's still very fragile.

"The road is still very susceptible to flooding, so if the road is flooded, obviously the road will be closed, so this is not a permanent fix," he said. "We've talked about Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 is fixing the dike. Phase 2 is looking at how do we get a road network back in there."

Council will look at options for a permanent fix next month.

The municipalitydecided to close the road after they learned there was a fiveto 40 per cent chance the dike protecting the shoreline could fail. They gave property owners ninedays to move out of their homes and properties.

Fearing the dike protecting the shoreline might break, the municipal government declared a state of emergency in early March.