Frustration mounts in flood-damaged southwest Manitoba

Officials in Manitoba's southwest corner are fed up with the number of damaged and closed roads still waiting to be fixed after June floods wreaked havoc on infrastructure.

"People are calling every day wanting to know when their roads are going to be put back into use and we haven't got the answers," said Karen Jones, councillor in the Rural Municipality of Albert. 

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The municipality is waiting on 75 road sites to be fixed, including four bridges. In the RM of Edward, the scene is much the same — 160 sites need repairs, including roads and six bridges. The estimate to make those repairs is $4 million.

"Our fire department has what looks like a jigsaw puzzle in the station for determining routes because there's so many closures, so many roads that you can't get down, or bridges that are out," said Debbie McMechan, councillor in the RM of Edward.

"We really worry about ambulance service for our people," she said, noting ambulances coming from other municipalities may not be familiar with all of the closures.

And while all damaged roads have signs, she worries what might happen if those signs blow over or are deliberately removed. 

"We worry what could happen if [someone] went sailing down those roads not realizing, you know, all of sudden there will be a big chunk out of the road," McMechan said.

Paperwork holds up repairs

Provincial engineers were sent out after the flood to assess the damage and come up with a plan for repairs but municipalities are still waiting on those reports to come back.

"The response to getting administration and inspections, it's been less than we needed. We need help out here," said Jones.

"It's a major disaster that the province seems a little bit behind [on]."

Disaster financial assistance will cover the majority of millions needed in infrastructure repairs, but that money still hasn't officially come through either. 

McMechan says the whole process needs to be expedited. She says the longer the wait, the greater the consequences.

"It's going to have an economic impact as well as the mighty inconvenience," she said.

"It's going to be telling in many other ways [but] hopefully none of that will be the loss of someone's life or somebody being really hurt because infrastructure lays open so long."

Neither councillor is confident the needed repairs will be completed before the snow flies.