Rouzes Brook Road set to reopen after week-long closure due to washouts

Heavy rainfall on Newfoundland's west coast on March 29 led to several road washouts. As culverts on Rouzes Brook Road were washed away and needed to be replaced, the route was closed to traffic for more than a week. (Department of Transportation and Infrastructure)

After a week-long closure of Rouzes Brook Road on Newfoundland's west coast due to a washout, the route will reopen to traffic Sunday night.

Cape St. George Mayor Stella Cornect says residents are eager for the road to be back in service.

"I've heard from a few, they're very happy," said Cornect. "I am [too]. I can get back over the road now to go towards town."

The road was one of three in the area which were closed following the heavy rainfall on March 29 that caused significant floods and washouts.

While the roads in Marches Point and Stanley Rowe's had reopened to traffic by Saturday night, Rouzes Brook remained closed all week.

The road is set to reopen around 6:00 p.m. tonight, but traffic will move at a reduced speed until Monday, as guardrails still need to be put in place.

Cornect said about 110 residents of Cape St. George and 50 in De Grau were impacted by the ongoing closure of the road, which connects the area with nearby Stephenville.

"That's where we go to do all our shopping. If not, we would have to go what's called 'around the loop,' which is a longer distance," she said. "It takes longer, 20 to maybe 30 minutes."

"We have quite a few people working in town and they had to use the long way around just to get to work."

Rouzes Brook Road was more significantly damaged than the other two impacted roads in the area, as the culverts were washed away, and therefore, repairs took longer, said Cornect.

"It was a big job. They started Monday morning and they're only finishing today," she said. "It was a massive hole in the road. Massive. You couldn't get across anywhere."

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While new culverts are now in place, Cornect said the only reliable way to prevent future road washouts is the construction of a bridge over Rouzes Brook, which the town will begin pushing for immediately.

"We've had two big major washouts," Cornect said. "In 1990, we had a washout exactly the same as this." said Cornect.

"Do something, update the infrastructure," she said. "I'm sure if we have a massive rainfall like we had last week, we're still going to get damage."

"They got any little bit of rain now, we're going to have flooding in houses again."

The flood in the area impacted dozens of people. According to Cornect, about 20 to 30 basements were flooded and many residents lost their driveways. She has been in contact with the provincial government about funding for residents and is waiting for updates.

She also hopes that the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure will be back in the area in the coming days to start cleaning up culverts.

CBC News asked the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. A representative said no one is available to comment until Monday.

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