Road flooding not as bad as last year

Apr 4, 2019 | 2:44 PM

Flooding has forced some temporary road closures in the County of Grande Prairie during spring runoff this year.

Public Works Director Dale Van Volkingburgh says the flooding this year is not nearly as bad as it was last year.

“We did quite a bit of work from the previous flood, but if you look back, there was a lot more snow during that flood event. Also, the warming event happened basically in four days. We went from freezing to extremely warm and it stayed warm in the evening.”

The MDs of Fairview and Greenview have also reported temporary road closures.

Van Volkingburgh says crews in the County have been working to keep culverts clear.

“We have crews out steaming culverts. If there’s some snow or debris in front of the ends of the culverts, we have crews running around, making sure that the water can access the culverts and continue to flow away. We have multiple crews throughout the whole County addressing that.”

Van Volkingburgh has some advice for drivers if they come across a flooded road.

“Use extreme caution, because if there’s water on top of the road, it could have washed a hole, which is extremely dangerous. Also, call our Public Works line at 780-532-7393 to advise us. We may know about it, or we may not know about it.”

by Curtis Galbraith