Dysart et al roads staff are investigating after a portion of Boughner Road, about five kilometres north of Evergreen Cemetery, washed away April 12.
Rob Camelon, the township’s public works director, said he received a call around 3 p.m. on Friday to say rushing water had taken out a chunk of the municipally owned road. It’s believed a nearby beaver dam burst, sending water hurtling towards, and eventually through, the dirt road.
“We lost the entire road for a stretch of about 30 feet,” Camelon told The Highlander.
Staff worked into the evening on Friday on temporary repairs, establishing a single lane so people who live on the road can get in and out. It was reopened on Saturday.
Camelon said staff are working on a longer-term solution for replacement. Asked for an estimate on damages, and cost to repair the road, Camelon said he won’t know until an initial analysis has been complete. He didn’t say whether the rebuild could be handled in-house or need to be contracted out.
Steven Bekker, who lives on Boughner Road, said he was made aware of the issue shortly after 3 p.m. One of his neighbours texted to alert him after hearing the beaver dam collapse while driving home.
“They said about two feet of depth of the road’s surface on the downstream side was already washed away,” Bekker noted.
About an hour later, Bekker went down to the stretch of road to look for himself, but things had progressed significantly.
“The road had completely collapsed. The chasm was about eight to 10 feet deep – a culvert that ran under Boughner to carry spring runoff had been washed downstream. The volume of water rushing out of the beaver pond was intense,” he said.
Another of Bekker’s neighbours spoke with township staff at the site, who reported debris from the breech had likely plugged the culvert, forcing water over the road. Because Boughner is a dirt road, and the deluge of water was significant, it quickly washed away.
Bekker spoke with another neighbour who said this wasn’t a new problem.
“He said it had broken three or four times in the 30 years he has lived on the road,” Bekker said.
