MAUGERVILLE, N.B. - Receding flood waters are revealing severe damage to roads along the swollen St. John River in New Brunswick, causing the province's transportation minister to warn Wednesday the repair costs will be high.
"I don't know all of the damage, and it is not assessed how much it will cost to repair the roads, but I'm thinking it will cost in the millions," Denis Landry said Wednesday as he escorted reporters on a tour of Route 105 in the Maugerville area, east of Fredericton.
"This is certainly one of the most damaged areas."
The highway, which hugs the river from Jemseg to Fredericton, was covered with dirt, driftwood and chunks of asphalt.
In many places, entire lanes had crumbled, or wide shoulders completely washed away.
Cyril MacDonald, a superintendent of maintenance with the Department of Transportation, said the water gets under the asphalt and lifts it.
Some of the slabs were estimated to be 12 to 15 metres long and three to 4.5 metres wide. They were carried 15 to 20 metres off the highway into farmers' fields.
Most of Highway 105 between Fredericton and the town of Jemseg remained closed on Wednesday.
"There are sections still under water," MacDonald said.
More than 30 roads were closed on Wednesday because of flooding.
One lane of the Trans-Canada Highway at Jemseg was closed as a precaution over the weekend because of rising water, but officials say they don't believe it suffered any damage.
While crews were busy assessing the road damage, Maugerville resident Amanda Vezina and her six-year-old daughter Olivia were canoeing in their flooded front yard. Their dog, a black lab, was swimming alongside.
"We're just making the best of a bad situation," said Vezina, whose basement was full of water.
On Tuesday, officials said the river was returning to normal size and crested on Wednesday throughout the St. John River basin.
The provincial government re-opened most buildings it owns or leases in downtown Fredericton, but the legislature was still closed.
Light rain is forecast in most areas on Thursday. The Emergency Measures Office said rain forecast for the weekend will increase water flows and levels in the river.
The province is expecting more than 1,000 people to apply for disaster relief and have estimated the total amount of damage to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
Under its disaster relief plan, homeowners are eligible for up to $80,000 in compensation for essentials, after paying a $1,000 deductible.
Businesses and farms have a $5,000 deductible, and can be compensated for 100 per cent of their first $100,000 in damages, and 75 per cent beyond that.
