Ontario Science Centre survives severe rainstorm despite fears over roof
Global News
The Ontario Science Centre was abruptly closed at the beginning of summer, with engineering citing fears heavy rain or snow could result in the roof collapsing.
A torrential downpour that swept across Toronto this week, overwhelming municipal and provincial infrastructure, wasn’t enough to buckle the roof of the Ontario Science Centre, despite warnings about the impact of heavy rain.
The Ford government abruptly shut down visitor access to the popular tourist destination after an engineering report found several roof panels were at risk of failure under the right weather conditions requiring immediate replacement.
The government opted to search for a temporary home for the science centre’s programming rather than spending an estimated $500 million to repair the existing structure.
But, while the engineering report suggested that “significant snow or rain loading” events could overwhelm the aging roofing panels leading to an “increased risk of sudden collapse,” Ontario’s minister of infrastructure told Global News on Thursday that the roof had remained intact.
“Nothing happened, thank goodness, this time,” Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma told Global News ahead of a cabinet meeting. “But we have staff there monitoring everything.”
Asked whether the storm, which dumped 97 mm of rain in some parts of Toronto including 26 mm in 10 minutes, was a test of the science centre’s integrity, Surma said: “It was.”
Critics question whether the fact the roof was not breached casts doubt over why the facility was closed in the first place.
“This was a record-breaking rainfall in Toronto, there was flooding everywhere,” said NDP MPP Chris Glover. “The science centre roof held up.”
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