Nearly 500 sections of paved and gravel roads and 60 road shoulders that were damaged in last weekend’s historic flooding have been repaired. That’s according to a press release from the province on Thursday.
About 20 of the province’s roads remain closed. That’s down from 60 roads that were closed on Saturday. Residents of three homes in South Rawdon, Hants County are isolated because of damage to Meek Road, although residents can get in and out on all-terrain vehicles.
Nineteen bridges that needed minor repairs are now reopened, but another 29 are still closed as work continues, while seven other bridges will need to be replaced. One of the closed bridges is Goat Lake Bridge near Exit 7 on Highway 103. That section is closed between exits seven and eight. Drivers can use a detour on Highway 3.
Two-hundred staff from Public Works, as well as a number of private contractors, are doing the infrastructure repairs.
On Wednesday, the province announced Nova Scotian residents, small businesses, and non-profit organizations could apply to receive up to $200,000 in financial assistance for uninsured losses incurred in the floods. Applications are available at Access Nova Scotia locations, MLA offices, and online here.
I hope HEx will be investigating the inexcusable delays in posting road closure/problems by the 511 map during the flood emergency. With modern communications available, the website should have been live and uptodate. It was not, even 12 hours later. The government does not seem to be able to respond quickly to crises. Since natural disasters are likely to increase in frequency, it needs to revise its response times and efforts.
Frances Anderson