People in Margaree Forks, N.S. are cleaning up after two mudslides hit the town in the last two days.
Crews were cleaning up after the first mudslide when the ground started to give way again. As a result, a section of the Cabot Trail has been reduced to one lane, resulting in traffic tie-ups in the area.
Area residents say it’s a problem they are all too familiar with.
“The last four years, a lot of weak ground, a lot of weak soil,” says resident Jason McDaniel. “It’s definitely time to…get to the heart of the problem.”
The Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal says it appears the embankment and soils were saturated from melting snow and mild temperatures, but the cause of the mudslide remains under investigation.
“Today we had our technical services folks down from Halifax to assess the site and we’re expecting some report early next week on the cause of the slope failure,” says Steve MacDonald.
Provincial engineers are assessing the road’s embankment and barriers are being placed to prevent another mudslide from happening.
“First of all, our concern is public safety,” says MacDonald. “Our first concern was to remove the debris from the roadway…and we are now placing some armoured barriers to prevent any material that may encroach on the roadway.”
Some motorists have had to wait up to 20 minutes due to the lane reduction on the Cabot Trail and residents are getting frustrated. They say the problem should have been fixed long ago.
“It’s an inconvenience to the area as well, definitely, four years in a row,” says McDaniel. “It’s not good for emergency vehicles, for school buses. It really is a pain, for sure.”
Residents hope officials can find a solution that will prevent the same thing from happening again next year.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore
