Repair costs for damaged wood at Kìwekì Point could be high, expert says

The NCC says the Whispering Point architectural shelter will be repaired at Kiweki Point, after it was damaged by a school bus. CTV’s Tyler Fleming reports.

Repairs to significant damage at Ottawa’s Kìwekì Point could be costly, according to an expert.

A school bus driver damaged the Whispering Point lookout in early December, as the bus scraped and broke dozens of lengths of timber on the architectural shelter.

A long yellow streak along Whispering Point is visible from the Alexandra Bridge.

Ottawa police say no criminal charges will be laid but the National Capital Commission called the damage “significant,” and is seeking full compensation while working with designers and fabricators to repair the site.

Mark Priddle, a co-owner with The Wood Source, says the Alaskan yellow cedar used in the shelter is slow-growing, durable, and highly valued for both its density and rot-resistant properties.

“It’s a beautiful wood that comes from northern BC and Alaska,” says Priddle. “It’s been used for years in traditional totem pole making and other things like that.”

Priddle says the lumber is a popular choice for decks and fences as well, and its cost can quickly climb depending on its quality.

“You’re looking at around, for the knotty stuff, $4 to $5 a board foot. If you’re going clear, the cost can go up to $10 at board foot,” he says. “So, for something like that [Whispering Point], you’re looking at tens of thousands of dollars of material.”

Beyond the raw material, Priddle says replicating the curved cedar elements requires precise design and manufacturing to match the original structure.

“We’ve done similar curved applications like that, and they’re always complicated. They require a lot of design work,” he says. “I would say $40,000 to $50,000 minimum just for the wood, its manufacturing, and the components.”

Priddle emphasized that figure is an estimate and covers only the cost of the wood and precision fabrication. It does not include additional construction, labour, or installation costs.

Kìwekì Point, formerly known as Nepean Point, overlooks the Ottawa River between the National Gallery of Canada and the Alexandra Bridge. The site reopened in May following a $45-million rehabilitation project that included a new pedestrian bridge and Whispering Point, which features deep-set nooks framing views of the river and Parliament Hill.

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