High water affecting highways in southwestern Saskatchewan

The spring runoff is forcing drivers off some Saskatchewan highways, including three in the southwest.

Highway 4 near Cadillac, Highway 19 between Central Butte and Bridgeford, and Highway 42 northwest of the Riverhurst Ferry are all impassable as parts of each have been washed away.

Cadillac Mayor Bryce Evesque said the road being impacted in his community usually doesn’t suffer major water damage.

“Water runs over it every so many years, but it’s never been washed out since the new culvert has been in (for) 30 years,” he said Friday.

Over the course of the year, Evesque noted, the road is pretty quiet in the winter but busier in the summer because of farming season.

From what he has heard, crews are waiting to determine what the extent of the damage is.

“It looks to me they’re waiting for the water to go down and hopefully they patch it up to let us go through for now,” he added.

Steve Shaheen of the Ministry of Highways said it will take a bit of time before those roads reopen.

“Highway 4 by Cadillac, we’re still monitoring the situation with the water. It’s starting to subside a little bit, but until they determine the damage, crews are just on standby. There’s no timeline (to fix) the road,” he explained.

“Highway 19 between Central Butte and Bridgeford, we’re monitoring and assessing that one. Engineers are working to come up with a plan for repairs. There is no timeline.

“Highway 42 northwest of the Riverhurst Ferry, water flow has stabilized, but more road has been washed away. We expect crews (there) to mobilize next week and begin on culvert replacement.”

Detours are in place for all three of those roads.

Shaheen noted crews remain on alert and ready to respond to any other highways experiencing problems because of the flooding some areas have seen.

While this is a problem, Shaheen says dealing with big spring melts is something the ministry is used to.

“Historically, I would say there’s probably times over the last decades that this has occurred in various areas of the province. We try and be proactive trying and installing new culverts,” Shaheen added.

Other roads also are being impacted.

According to the Highway Hotline, water was across Highway 365 near Watrous on Friday, a bridge was flooded on Highway 784 near the South Saskatchewan River east of Warman, there was water over the road on Highway 945 near Big River, and there was water over the road on Highway 102 near Missinipe.

Levels near Lucky Lake

Melanie Dyck is the administrator for the RM of Canaan, which includes the stretch of Highway 42 that has been demolished near Lucky Lake.

“We have some local roads within our rural municipality that have actually been washed out,” Dyck said.

Dyck said this is the most severe flooding she has witnessed during her time as administrator. She noted the last time the flooding in the area was this bad was in the late 1980s.

“The main things that our council and the community members are concerned about are what changes it will mean for traffic,” she said.

“(There are) detours you have to go around and of course (there’s concern about) safety because we’ve had some culverts that have washed out or are threatening to wash out that somebody could be travelling over that road and not know that it’s being undermined underneath.”

Dyck said the RM has had staff out keeping watch over those areas.

“(Things) can change very quickly when water is running,” Dyck said.

On the bright side, Dyck indicated the water is receding and most of the snow in the area’s fields is gone.

“There’s some drifts here and there but they’re expecting probably this weekend the rest of the water will clear and we’ll be able to get some repairs started next week,” she said.

Dyck said the RM will need to do a full road tour before deciding whether or not it’ll need provincial help.

She suggested anyone who has concerns about where to go in the area or what to look for should call the municipal office.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Daniel Reech