A 20-foot wide hole near the entrance to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park has left campers and staff stranded on the other side.
The roadway washout near Joe Creek about three kilometres in from the park’s entrance came amid the massive long weekend rainfall. The nearby creek collapsed the road by Portage Drive leaving a 20-foot wide, 30-feet deep hole.
The park is closed as construction crews work to repair the road.
Park superintendent Greg Wilson said there’s a few visitors at the park but staff are in constant communication to make sure they’re safe and comfortable.
“Everyone is taken care of right now,” Wilson said. “We’re also making sure we’re prepared in case of any emergency situation. In addition to the campers we have here we also have 10 staff members and about six of those staff members commute, which means they’re having an extended stay in the park. So we have about 20 people in the park right now.”
Although the visitors are prepared for a longer stay, the timeline of when the road will be fixed is still uncertain.
Wilson said it’s because the power line that runs along the road was washout as well so the park doesn’t have power from Hydro One. Instead, the park is using a generator to cover the essential power needs.
He guessed that the road would be repaired within the next couple of days for emergency access only.
In the worst-case scenario, he said they have access to a helicopter in the need arises.
He added they hope to have the park reopened on May 29 or sooner.
Annemarie Piscopo, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Transportation Northwest region, responded in an email that Highway 587 is closed at Joe Creek.
“Crews are working to install a temporary culvert to provide emergency access at the site of the washout,” she said in the email to Dougall Media.
“The contractor is currently sourcing material for a two metre culvert replacement. We anticipate the temporary culvert will be completed by tomorrow.”
