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Mayor Jacques Allard stands in front of the 70-foot gap that now divides his town of L’Ascension.
Spray painted white lines on the ground track the ongoing erosion that continues with every rainfall.
It’s been 82 days since heavy rain washed away parts of Principale Street and de L’Ascension Road that connects the small municipality to the city of Rivière-Rouge on Aug. 3.
The mayor says on its end, L’Ascension is ready to start work to repair the road.
They have their contractor, the engineer plans are in place and the replacement culvert — twice the diameter of the previous one — is sitting idly by the protective fencing that surrounds the giant crater.
So what’s the delay?
The municipality says it’s waiting for the green light from the Quebec government to begin the repair, which their contractor expects to take five weeks and cost roughly $3 million.
A report of the required work also had to be sent to Fisheries and Oceans Canada for approval — a report that took 70 days to be approved and was then sent to the government.
The washout is directly in front of the fire hall, impacting emergency services. (Andie Bennett/CBC)
L’Ascension is now awaiting confirmation that they will receive the subsidy from the program that provides financial support to municipalities affected by natural disasters.
Allard says the bureaucracy slowing down this work is unacceptable.
“Normally they have a protocol to fast track. Now it is a very slow track,” he said.
300 people cut off
The crater left behind by the rushing water that ripped up sections of asphalt and collapsed culverts is 45 feet deep and 70 feet wide.
Thirty per cent of the small population lives on the other side of the gap, meaning around 300 people are cut off from their community.
Nicolas Côté owns a small grocery store in town. He says business is already down 15 per cent compared to last year due to its inaccessibility.
Residents on the other side of the gap must either take their business to the nearby town of Rivière-Rouge or make a detour of more than an hour to reach their local grocery store.
The gap is 45 feet deep and 70 feet wide and sits where the road used to connect in L’Ascension. (Andie Bennett/CBC)
Côté says when you live in a small town where the population is just shy of 1,000 people, it’s more like a family.
He says many people have sent him messages saying they hope the repairs happen soon so they will see him again and be able to shop at their local store.
“Maybe it’s tough to fix, but to wait so much time … and we still don’t know what will happen,” Côté said.
The local grocery store in L’Ascension has already seen a 15 per cent drop in business compared to last year due to the lack of access for residents. (Andie Bennett/CBC)
With winter coming, Allard says there is a lot of anxiety within the community. He is also concerned about the financial impact if the repairs are not completed as soon as possible.
“On the other side, it takes five minutes to get here. Now it’s 50 minutes. How will we pay to remove the snow in the winter? The trucks will have to make this detour. We will have a big expense for fuel,” he said.
CBC News reached out to the Domestic Security Ministry for comment. It said it is currently reviewing the file and will confirm, as soon as possible, whether the work is eligible for financial assistance.
