Flooding in the RM of Buckland may be over, but the work to repair roads, bridges and culverts is still far from finished.
Reeve Linda Clavelle said the RM is still dealing with several damaged sites from the spring flooding, including three affected bridges on the east side of the municipality.
“On the east side of the RM, we have three bridges that are affected, and they are on Honeymoon Road and on Gobeil Road,” Clavelle said.
She said those bridges were affected by the Garden River. Another affected crossing is in the Shell and Sturgeon River area, where both river systems meet.
Clavelle said the RM also had a major washout near culverts on White Star West. That repair is underway and could be finished this week or next week, depending on weather.
“The weather is the determining factor on that,” she said. “If it’s rainy, they can’t be moving earth.”
Clavelle said residents and service providers are still dealing with difficult travel in some areas, although people have found ways around the damaged routes.
“The disaster is pretty much done, but the fixing of the roads for normal traffic is ongoing,” she said.
The RM has completed what local crews can do, but Clavelle said 11 damaged sites still require engineering. Work on those sites may not begin until August.
“Our maintenance crews have been restoring constantly what they can,” she said. “We have 11 sites that are to be engineered.”
Clavelle said the RM does not yet have a final damage estimate because engineering studies have not been completed. She said the cost is expected to be high.
The RM is using the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program, or PDAP, to help cover eligible flood damage costs. Clavelle described the program as similar to an insurance claim, where the RM pays its share first and the province reimburses eligible costs above that amount.
“It’s a good program, but it’s not a quick program,” she said.
In a response to the Daily Herald, the Government of Saskatchewan confirmed the RM of Buckland has been designated for assistance through PDAP for flooding costs this year, but said PDAP does not discuss the specifics of individual claims without direction from the claimant.
The province said one of the first steps in a municipal PDAP claim is assigning an engineer to assess damage and provide repair estimates. That report provides the basis for an advance payment and outlines the project scopes that will be supported.
The province said the timeframe for that process is driven by the scale of damage, the availability of local authorities and access to damaged sites, but is commonly completed within 60 days of a disaster. PDAP claims have an initial one-year timeline for completion of work and submission of expenses, although extensions are commonly granted for significant infrastructure projects that may take multiple years.
The Ministry of Highways said its crews and equipment have been responding to flood-affected areas to restore provincial highway service as conditions allow. In the Prince Albert area, the ministry listed work on routes including Paddockwood Access, Meath Park Access, Ramsey Bay Access, Highway 2 North Service Road, Highway 3, Highway 55, Highway 165 and Highway 355 among others.
The ministry said municipalities are responsible for maintaining and building their own roads and related infrastructure, but said the province supports rural municipal road infrastructure through the Rural Integrated Roads for Growth program, administered by the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
Clavelle said the RM understands residents are frustrated, but asked for patience as engineering, funding and repair work continue.
“We are working on them,” she said. “The government is working to supply proper solutions to make sure that when all is said and done, the goal is to be back in as good a position as we were in before the flooding.”
She also warned drivers not to go around road barriers.
“If a bridge is marked closed and there’s barriers, don’t drive on it,” Clavelle said. “There are dangers there.”
Clavelle said one vehicle drove into the river earlier in the flooding response after the White Star washout, and fire and police had to pull the driver out.
