Perth-Andover still waiting for help with flood-damage plans

The Village of Perth-Andover has a plan to help with its flooding problems when the St. John River overflows.

The hope is to have infrastructure changesand help for businessesin the flood zone inplace bythe spring of 2018.

But the provincial government says itstill needs to secure funding for the $50-million plan, said Perth-Andover mayor Marianne Bell.

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Representatives with the province recently met with Bell about the plan, she said.

"I would say that we feel hopeful. Our council and community feels hopeful, but I wouldn't say that we feel confident, yet, because it has been a little bit more than five years now and we have heard a few promises before,"said Bell on CBC's Information Morning Fredericton.

Bell recalled the devastating 2012 flood that hit the community.

"It was amazing. All over the village we were stuck in our homes. We couldn't...go anywhere in town because everything was under water,"she said.

"Three feet more water than we have ever had before."

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Bell added that the plan doesn't include a new bridge, which she says is needed.

The province did provide some funding for an engineering study to help determine where new roads would be located and where businesses could move to stay dry.

The plan also involves moving Highway 105 away from the St. John Rivernear the Trans-Canada trail andon higher ground.

When the river overflows, it floods the road and nearby businesses, Bell explained.

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And, given the tendency of the river to flood, this spring, as in previous years, the community is watching it "like hawks,"she said.

"March and April, we are nervous the whole time."