Dieppe flooding closes roads and stores

Flooding is causing problems in New Brunswick as a mild break in January melts the winter snow.

Some roads are impassable and others are reduced to one lane.

In Dieppe, Jeff Beed has traded his dress shoes for rain boots. His office onAcadie Avenue, Heritage Memorials, is surrounded by water ankle-deep or more.

The sales manager had to close Thursday because of the flooding.

We deal a lot with older, senior people and to come in here and expect them to wade through two feet of water and park their car just isn't realistic, he said.

People want to wash their cars, but they can't come in because the road is closed.- Pierre Regache, AmiraultCar Spa

The four-lane Acadie Avenue was down to one lane Thursday as water sloshed over the pavement.

Beed said the road was built beside a marsh. He's hoping this floodwon't be as bad as the flood three years ago.

When we flooded inside, there was a lot of renovations that had to be done. We were closed for about an eight-week period, so there were certainly revenues lost during that time frame, he said.

Route 106 between Memramcook and Dorchester is impassable.

Kurt Folkins was last able to drive through on Monday.

I drove our neighbours kids home, too, because they drove through with their van and their engine took in some water and it ruined their van. There weretwo other cars that were disabled the same [way]too much water," he said.

Bad for car-detailing business

Pierre Regache, owner of Dieppes Amirault Car Spa, had to close his car detailing shop this week.

It's a little bit frustrating because the cars are really dirty by the winter, so a lot of people want to wash their cars, but they can't come in because the road is closed and there's a lot of water everywhere. So it's hard for us, he said.

YvonLapierre, mayor of Dieppe, said the city is working on a solution.

We have a plan to raise the AcadieAvenue by a metre, but it's a major project. We're talking about as much as $12 to nearly $13 million, he said.

The avenue is a provincially-designated highway, so Lapierre hopes the provincial and federal governments will help pay for it. It will be at least a year until the road is raised.