Communities on the south shore of the Bay of Islands are still waiting to find out what work will be done to repair damage caused by January’s winter rain storm.
The storm caused flooding that damaged roads along the shore with Frenchman’s Cove and Benoit’s Cove in Humber Arm South and York Harbour the hardest hit.
York Harbour and its sister community Lark Harbour were cut off from the rest of the south shore when a section of highway washed out at Rattler Brook.
Related stories:
State of emergency lifted in Lark Harbour and York Harbour
Humber Arm South’s deputy mayor had to evacuate parents from flooded home
Severe wet weather felt by residents all over west coast
The Department of Transportation and Works issued a tender for the work in the Bay of Islands and nearby areas in late June.
Work listed in the tender includes ditching, shouldering, culvert installation, culvert cleaning, asphalt patching, slope repairs, paving and replacing damaged gabion baskets throughout Route 450 (the south shore) and also some ditching, culvert replacing and shouldering on the Lewin Parkway in Corner Brook.
The tender closed on July 13 and a spokesperson for the department said the bids are currently being reviewed and the contract should be awarded by the end of the month.
York Harbour Mayor Charlie Kendell is anxious to find out what work will be done in his town.
Kendell said Snook’s Lane was damaged and culverts on one side of road are blocked.
“If we get a major rain storm it would be bad.”
The town also experienced damage on Beach Lane and Oceanview Road.
He hopes those will be covered by the tender.
Number 4 Brook and Copper Mine Brook also need major work done.
Kendell said armour stone that was placed in Number 4 Brook a few years ago was all washed away during the storm.
He would like to see the repairs happen soon as the summer construction season is getting shorter.
“We’ll soon be back to rainy season again,” he said.
Humber Arm South Mayor Glenn Savard also hopes to soon hear what work will be done.
“We want it all fixed as soon as we can get it fixed for sure. We don’t want have to go through another winter,” he said.
As for just what needs fixing, Savard said “there’s a bunch of stuff.
“We were one of the worst hit in this area.
“A lot of our stuff was covered with snow, places that we couldn’t even see.”
In Frenchman’s Cove, he said there was a lot of damage to First Avenue which saw the pavement lifted by the flooding water and to Webcon Road.
Frenchman’s Cove Hill also had a section of road drop off after the storm, but it was related to the flooding and water runoff from the storm.
Traffic lights are in operation on that section of the road, which is down to one lane.
Savard said the town dug the rocks out of Clarke’s Brook and put it back on the sides of the brook, but it needs more work and he hopes the province will put armour stone in there to prevent it from happening again.
Savard would also like to see the province do more than just repair the storm damage as he feels the whole south shore highway needs an upgrade.
