Highway 5A at Stump Lake, May 5 (Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds)

By James Peters

B.C. Flood

Contractor plans to have Highway 5A at Stump Lake passable before the weekend

May 12, 2020 | 11:24 AM

MERRITT, B.C. — The contractor in charge of maintaining Highway 5A says crews hope to have traffic flowing through the Stump Lake area later this week.

High water has submerged the road surface in three spots near the lake, and Yellowhead Road and Bridge (YRB) regional general manager Dave Duncan says it is six-to-ten inches deep.

The road was closed near Stump Lake last week.

“You can see debris coming off the lake as wind levels pick up. With the water levels there, it wasn’t safe for traffic to continue to travel those areas,” Duncan told CFJC Today Tuesday (May 12). “Prior to getting traffic back on that route, we’ve just got to get those areas raised up so that they’re above the current lake level.”

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YRB is working with local contractors to haul rock and other material into the site, building the highway up so it will be able to accommodate traffic again. Duncan says the company hopes to have the road passable before the weekend.

“We’ve had to raise the level of the highway so there’s no gravel on top of where the previous highway surface was,” said Duncan. “We will be restoring the road to its previous condition as we move forward, but we wanted to make sure that we got the highway reopened as soon as practically possible.”

A 70 per cent axle weight load restriction will be enforced once the route reopens.

Duncan says local residents have been patient and helpful as YRB has worked to respond to the high water.