Lady Grey Drive wall and escarpment work underway

By Allen Brown

The Lady Grey Drive retaining wall, built in 1911 with local stone, has undergone several repairs over the years, most recently in 2010. Despite these efforts, parts of the wall started to collapse near the Ottawa Rowing Club in 2020. The NCC therefore has begun a project to replace the wall to improve its structural integrity, re-naturalize the shoreline, and improve public access to the Ottawa River.  

As Lady Grey Drive is designated as a Cultural Landscape, the NCC commissioned a Heritage Impact Statement for the wall demolition and a Cultural Landscape Assessment of the Rideau Corridor. Both studies identified the limestone outcrops along the drive as heritage character-defining elements, and they will be featured in the final rehabilitation design of the wall and the Lady Grey Drive landscape.

The original footprint of the drive will be retained, however, the stone cladding which has characterized the sinuous wall supporting it for well over a century will not. Instead, the new retaining wall will be built of concrete with a vertical wood-stamped texture. Designs for the lighting, railing design, and landscaping have yet to be finalized.

The project began last summer with the replacement of steam heating and cooling pipes serving the National Research Council and Pearson Buildings on Sussex Drive. This year demolition of the stone retaining wall is underway, and the project is expected to be completed by 2026.