By Melanie Jacob
Journal Staff Writer
mjacob@humboldtjournal.ca
As many motorists would've discovered already, certain areas of Highway 5 are flooded, particularly right before the junction heading west to Saskatoon.
"We're working on a plan to drain the water on the site," said Joel Cherry, communications consultant with the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure. "Right now, there are markers to show where the edges of the road are."
The signs tell people to slow down and that there's a water hazard ahead. There are also temporary speed restrictions in place. Currently, the Ministry of Highways is expecting the water to recede with the increase in temperatures, but if it doesn't, they'll have to take other measures.
"If the water level rose and it became unsafe for traffic, we'd have to close the road," said Cherry. "We don't know if that's even a possibility right now."
If it came to that, they would need to get in touch with the local RMs to get a detour set up for travelers. Fortunately, the government doesn't expect it to come to that as flooding for this year hasn't been that bad.
For the time being, people can keep up to date with the road conditions by visiting the highway hotline website at www.saskatchewan.ca/live/transportation/highway-hotline.
