Peace River Region cut off for another week

access, 2011, another, weekend, between

Peace River Region cut off for another week
Hundreds of washouts on Highway 97, Highway 29 and CN train line
Renee Bernard Jun 30, 2011 23:08:22 PM
0 CHETWYND (NEWS1130) - It may be another week or two before the highway connecting the Peace River Region and the rest of the province is repaired.

Highway 97 was washed out in several areas, between Chetwynd and Mackenzie, last week. And there still is no access from Chetwynd to Hudson's Hope on Highway 29.

This weekend is traditionally the first for Americans making their way through BC to travel the Alaska Highway.

Chetwynd mayor Evan Saugstad says a lot of local campers will also be disappointed by the hundreds of damaged forestry roads.

"You usually see a lot of people from Alberta and around the Peace Region come to Chetwynd for the long weekend to camp. But with the situation affecting industrial roads and roads along the rivers and campsites, we're seeing a lot fewer of them right now," he notes.

The worst of the flooding is over. "At most places the creeks are back in their beds. It's all dry. It's just a matter of repairing everything. We don't have all the reports in from the rural areas and industrial roads, but there were literally hundreds of washouts."

The good news is that CN Rail, which also had its service knocked out by the same washouts, is hoping to get its tracks cleared by Friday night.