QUILL LAKE, Sask. – Flooding in east-central Saskatchewan has forced a rural municipality to close a bridge. Grid 640 in the R.M. of Lakeside, which allows motorists a passage between Big Quill and Little Quill Lakes, closed Tuesday afternoon.
According to the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency, the lakes are at a record high of 520.64 meters – up nearly 16 inches from the summer of 2014.
Kerry Holderness, a councillor with the R.M., said water has risen to dangerous levels, threatening the safety of the bridge on the 640, forcing the municipality to shut it down.
“The road is still firm in centre although the sides are eroding with each east or west wind. The bridge is the most at risk,” said Holderness.
“There has been daily erosion on the abutments at each end on the west side, and today’s east wind has eroded the southeast corner. Any windstorm at anytime day or night can remove the remainder of the travel surface.”
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The closure is a huge inconvenience for residents of Quill Lake, Wynyard and rural residents in the surrounding area. Residents travelling between the two towns now have to travel around the lakes, adding 40 kilometers to the trek.
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