LAC LA BICHE - A large piece of culvert is being placed under the highway at the western entrance to the Lac La Biche hamlet — the same spot where flood waters threatened to send a four-foot wave of water surging toward homes and infrastructure earlier in the year.
The four-foot in diameter pipe is replacing a smaller one that was damaged during late-spring floods in the community. Heavy rains, beaver dams and saturated land created backups of standing water that eventually forced its way through several local roads, damaged local bridges, even eroded the foundations of a 60-foot stretch of the CN train tracks that run through the community. The flooding caused a state of local emergency to be called, including the evacuation of several dozen homes in the path of possible flood waves.
Upwards of a million dollars in damages was claimed by Lac La Biche County officials. Provincial crews began working on the culvert last week. The project is being paid for by the province. Traffic disruptions are expected until the project is completed.
