Point Pelee National Park Tip Tower repairs to be made soon: 'We're as excited as everybody else'

Parks Canada has announced that work will soon begin to repair a safety guardrail issue on the Tip Tower at Point Pelee National Park.

Following a competitive selection process, Parks Canada awarded a contract to Heritage Restoration Inc. on May 3 for the guardrail replacement and repairs.

“We're as excited as everybody else to see that finish,” exclaimed Park Superintendent Julie Charlton. “Visitor safety is one of our biggest priorities.”

Officials stated Parks Canada will be working closely with the contractor to facilitate the reopening of the tower as soon as it is safe to do so, noting ongoing updates on the project will be made available on Parks Canada’s website.

The tip area remains open for visitors to explore as work on the tower continues.

Charlton said Parks Canada recognizes that access to the 360-degree vistas from the Tip Tower is important to park visitors and that staff look forward to resuming this unique experience.

“I think a lot of folks are as disappointed as we are that it's not open in time for the festival. There is a big portion of the work that's happening off site and that also helps limit the impact of visitors,” said Charlton.

Point Pelee National Park, seen on May 9, 2024. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

The tower was closed in May 2022 due to an issue with the guard rail. Since then, an engineering assessment has been completed which confirmed the tower is structurally sound and the issue was isolated to the guardrail system.

Since the fall 2023 update provided by Point Pelee National Park, Parks Canada initiated a third-party engineering assessment to validate concerns with the guardrail system. A full engineering assessment was completed, confirming the tower is structurally sound and the issue is isolated to the guardrail system.

Design work for the railing replacement was completed and a tendering process for guardrail repair and replacement took place on the Government of Canada online tendering site, CanadaBuys.

“We don't have a schedule yet. I think that we're committed to getting it right and whatever timeline we release that we are sure that we can keep that timeline. So as soon as we have a firm schedule, we're going to share that on our social media and also on our website,” said Charlton.

According to Parks Canada, the original contract value for the Tip Tower construction was $1.182 million.

To date, Parks Canada has paid additional costs of $24,000 to inspect the tower and $151,000 for redesign and on-going consultation.

The contract awarded on May 3, 2024 was for $789,305.

Charlton told CTV News roughly half a million people visit Point Pelee National Park each year.

“Parks Canada is committed to getting it right and that's why we're taking our time to make sure we do the right job,” Charlton said.