Two bridges, one flood and another giant detour for Lakeville Corner residents

Residents relying on a pair of flood-damaged bridges near Lakeville Corner are bracing for a long wait to see them reopen.

The two Route 690 bridges connect several rural communities to Route 105 — the main route to Oromocto for locals — but they were flooded for the second straight year, sending commuters on a lengthy detour.

"It's really a pain and there are a lot of people here that work in Oromocto and a lot of people in Minto who work in Oromocto and they take this highway," said Lakeville Corner resident Janet Crossman, whose husband works at the military base in Oromocto.

Instead of heading southwest, commuters are sent northwest to meet Route 10, which takes them in Fredericton and then onto Oromocto.

"It was 15 minutes and now it takes an hour," Crossman said.

The water level in the Sheffield-Lakeville Corner returned below flood stage for the first time in more than two weeks on Tuesday. But the water, lapping against the steel base of the bridges, remains high.

Jemseg remains the only community above flood stage, and it will remain that way until Friday, according to the provincial forecast.

The bridges, which are separated by a small piece of island, were closed for more than 40 days after last year's historic flood, which shifted one of the structures.

Residents say this year's flood didn't reach the 2018 mark, but it covered the bridges and caused plenty of damage.

"It's quite a mess down there," said Annie Camp, who visited the scene Monday evening.

She said there were chunks of pavement torn up and part of the guardrail was displaced.

A cleanup crew got to work Tuesday clearing the highway of debris before inspectors can assess the damage.

Although floodwaters have receded, the provincial government has said many roads across the province remain closed  because they could be structurally unsound.

Camp is hopeful the highway will reopen soon.

"It's really a big inconvenience," she said.

"Hopefully, it's just cosmetic work that needs to be done this year and none of those structural problems." 

The Department of Transportation did not provide an interview about the state of the two bridges.