WYCOCOMAGH, N.S. -- A Cape Breton tourism operator is dealing with a different kind of isolation after Mother Nature interfered with his ability to make a living.
Grant Haverstock is the co-owner of Iron Mountain Wilderness Cabins in Wycocomagh, N.S. For the last 29 day, part of the road into his property was washed out due to a rain storm earlier this month.
Now he's worried about the future of his business as he waits on the province to complete the road repairs.
"They dug a trench across our road to replace the culvert, but they didn’t have any pipe to replace it with," Haverstock says. "It’s getting to the point where it’s becoming laughable, but it’s not."
Despite calls to the Department of Transportation and government officials, there is still no access to his property.
"This is completely unacceptable in Nova Scotia. We can’t make any payments, we can’t make a living, we can’t have any guests up here because (the Department of Transportation) has closed the road," Haverstock says.
Haverstock’s business – which is open year-round -- was booming with business before the pandemic hit. Today, there’s a lot of uncertainty, with new COVID-19 restrictions in place.
"I don’t know how this is going to work for the tourism operators in the province if no one can travel outside of their communities to get away. The majority of our cliental is from urban centres," Haverstock says.
In an email, the Department of Transportation says there are still areas of the road that are too soft for heavy gear. Spring weight restrictions are still in effect, but are expected to be lifted on April 30th. The department hopes to be able to prioritize repairs in the coming weeks.
"Our location is the perfect location to isolate. We’re in the woods, off grid, no traffic, it’s the perfect spot to be," Haverstock says. "I think that’s been pretty well silenced."
Meanwhile, Haverstock says the bills are adding up and there no money to pay them.
He wants the road to be repaired so when it's time to re-open there will be no delays on his end.
