MANITOULIN—The deluge that struck the region on the evening of Wednesday, July 16 brought more than six inches of rain to the north of the Manitoulin District, causing washouts on a number of roads throughout the North including Highway 6, which was closed for several hours between Birch Lane and Hopkins Road. There was also a washout on Fox Lake Road leading to no options for a detour to Manitoulin Island and prompting calls for the construction of an alternate route to the Island.
Flooding also closed both lanes of Highway 17 between Wawa and Montreal River requiring repairs the OPP say could take days. Luckily, the washout on Highway 6 was bypassed with one lane by noon on Thursday and fully opened late in the evening.
“Traffic is being let through one lane at a time periodically while road crews continue to repair the road,” OPP Const. Berkley Parisien said in an email shortly after the closure. “We are just hoping to advise motorists to be patient as the traffic has built up and also to proceed with caution through the construction area as there are road repair crews on scene.” Motorists were also advised to not move around barricades and the OPP urged the public to avoid the locations and to respect all road closure signs. “For your safety, do not attempt to bypass barricades or detour around signage, as the road conditions are unstable and pose a serious risk to drivers,” cautioned Constable Parisien.
The Town of Northeastern Manitoulin were advised by an EMCON employee that it could take up to 12 hours to fix the road, but in the end, it was open, one lane at least, just after noon. The town had staff stationed at the bridge to let people know about the road closure and advised the fire department, the hospital, the ferry and the Great Lakes Cruising Club group that were planning on leaving on Thursday (a number of whom had arrived by car to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the club’s rendezvous).
The town anticipated traffic backups throughout the town and were “encouraging people to find options rather than sitting in their cars,” according to town CAO David Williamson. “We will have the recreation centre open and provide a place for people to wait with coffee, tea, games for kids, etc, for those that have no other options.”
A cloud often brings a silver lining, and the town was encouraging visitors to check out local trails and parks once the weather had cleared.
Whitefish River First Nation band manager Murray McGregor expressed frustration that the First Nation was only advised of the situation on social media rather than being contacted directly.
“It’s a little disappointing because it does affect a lot of our community members and a lot of our administration,” said Mr. McGregor. “If we don’t get the information in a timely manner, then we can’t really let our members know through our own social media.”
As was the case with many Island residents, Mr. McGregor noted that many people in the First Nation had to cancel doctors’ appointments in Espanola and Sudbury which can often take months to reschedule.
“We do have a number of staff that do live out of town, who live in neighbouring communities, Espanola, even as far away as Sudbury and Massey,” noted Mr. McGregor. “With a sudden closure like this, and if they’re not prepared to work from home, then they’re kind of stuck with a day off type thing.”
Thankfully, the band still had access to the Manitoulin Health Centre and its helipad should a medical emergency occur.
On the bright side, Mr. McGregor later noted that he had received a call from the road maintenance company looking to set up better communications in the future. “So, that’s a good thing at least,” he said.
Whitefish River First Nation is calling on the province to build an alternate route to ensure that communities south of Espanola have another option should one of the roads become impassable, isolating Manitoulin.
