HOYT, N.B. – The province’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure says not all of the locations damaged by the Sept. 30 rainstorm will be fixed this year.
The storm saw heavy rainfall dump more than 160 millimetres on parts of New Brunswick, causing widespread property damage.
Of the 287 damaged locations identified by DTI, 39 remain closed and 19 have been opened to one lane.
“Due to the time of year, some damaged locations will not be replaced or upgraded this year,” said spokesperson Sarah Bustard in an email. “In these situations we have or will temporarily stabilize the areas for the winter to ensure the safety of the travelling public.”
Some are saying it’s too long to wait.
Parts of Route 101 that run through Hoyt remain closed, including a bridge that goes over Sophia Brook.
It’s been out for almost five weeks, splitting the community.
“My mom used to live ten minutes away and now she’s 25 minutes away. Gas station’s 25 minutes away, grocery stores, everything’s just so far away,” said Ann Sparks, who works at a local grocery store.
It now takes some residents almost 30 minutes to drive to a grocery store they can see from their kitchen window.
The Department is installing a one-lane, modular bridge at the site, which is supposed to be completed at the end of this week.
“We’ve lost a lot of business, it’s been a bit of a struggle trying to keep things going and our suppliers, our chip man was just here and said it was 45 kms round trip, just to deliver our chips,” Sparks said.
Some residents say they’re using four-wheelers to get around.
“I am glad to see them finally doing something after five weeks and that’s the biggest concern,” said resident Patrick Morrison.
The department says they plan to have most repairs made by mid-November.
Other locations in the Hoyt area being worked on over the next several weeks, according to the department:
- Contractors are installing replacement culverts on Route 101 at three locations and culvert replacement work is ongoing on Mill Settlement Road where there are four culverts to replace.
- Four culverts remain on Duplisea Road that need to be replaced at three locations. A tender is being called for the replacement of two of these at Pete Brook with that work to be done by the end of the year.
- Remaining work in 2015 will be to patch the road over culverts with asphalt that the department has worked on and the installation of guiderail at some locations.
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