Officials expect Hwy 16 to be fully open Tuesday

A short time later - by mid-afternoon Monday, July 16 - crews had come even closer to completely clearing the highway, after it was closed Sunday due to heavy rains dislodged a culvert, causing the highway to flood.

While Alberta Transportation officials had hoped to have the rest of Highway 16 re-opened by Monday evening, CTV News has learned the major road will not open until late Tuesday morning, at the earliest.

Crews have been working to clear water from a portion of the highway – after heavy rains dislodged a culvert and flooded the road.

The situation has slowly improved since the road was closed Sunday, but there was still a lot of water on the highway for much of the day.

On Monday morning, east-bound lanes still had approximately one foot of rain water covering the road.

However, by the afternoon, crews had managed to pump enough water to make one lane visible – however too much water remained on the road for officials to conduct an inspection.

Until it’s fully reopened, eastbound traffic is being diverted at the Highway 16/Highway 16A junction. Drivers will still need to find alternate routes through Spruce Grove and Stony Plain or find a back road.

Traffic has been flowing smoothly in the westbound lanes of the highway – as the water has drained from that area.

Highway contractors and road maintenance workers will continue to pump out the water, until officials deem it safe enough for traffic to pass - it's hoped the road will open again at the earliest by 10 am Tuesday.

With files from Sean Amato