The road has previously been closed to non-essential traffic, but in the past residents were still able to access their properties. Now round-the-clock security will make sure even home and cottage owners don’t use the roadway. 

“All public access will be denied and anyone caught violating the road closure may be charged accordingly,” notices tacked to properties say. 

The road will be closed for at least six to eight weeks, possibly longer. And if the dike does fail, Erieau, Ont. — a community of about 500 people that relies on the access road — could become an island. 

A relentless Lake Erie here in Erieau. @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/D5hbr9alKr

— Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) March 2, 2020

Chatham-Kent has already spent more than $1 million on monitoring and repairing the dike. In 2018, a report from a consulting firm was released, showing how unstable the dike was in the community that seemed constantly under a state of emergency. In March of 2019, Infrastructure Canada announced more than $16.5 million for flood mitigation to reinforce shorelines across the country — but the Erie Shore dike was not on the list.

This is a much better look at what the residents of Erie Shore Dr are dealing with. Homes have already been destroyed. @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/2JwCTFlxSR

— Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) March 2, 2020

A history of the dike and its failings

Erie Shore Drive was originally constructed in 1914. States of emergency along the roadway date back to 1997, when record-high water levels and storm events threatened a breach of the dike. An engineering study conducted at the time showed the shoreline was irreversibly eroding, requiring an estimated $11 million in intervention work. No such funding existed.