Up-and-down temperatures causing ice problems for P.E.I. property owners

P.E.I.'s up and down temperatures have Island road crews working overtime and some residents with water woes.

When ditches and culverts freezeover, it can leave water nowhere to travel, causing large swaths of ice on people's properties.

GarnettSandersonhas never seen anything like it in the 10 years he's lived in Newport.

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The ditch along his property was frozen solid as temperatures dipped and soared over the past few weeks.

The culvert was blocked with ice, causing the warm temperature water to flow onto Sanderson'sproperty before freezing solid once again.

"There has never been water that has come down here yet before this year," he said. "We can't do nothing about the weather."

On Wednesday, the Department of Transportation used a backhoe to clear the culvert and a path for the water to flow away from Sanderson'sproperty.

"Whether the water will come through the culvert and run again, that's another story," Sandersonsaid."We'll have to wait till it milds up."

Busy time for highway maintenance

The predicted warm weather will mean the water will flow again, or in some cases, back up even more.

"It's definitely concerning if we get a lot of water running," saidP.E.I. highway maintenance director Stephen Szwarc.

"We are sending the equipment out, the backhoes when we have them. We've got quite a few to get to, and we're trying to prioritize them. We hit through the list as quickly as we can."

The departmenthas been using rental backhoes, contractors and paying crews overtime to work through the blockages.

"We're seeing a lot of water running, and then flash freezes," Szwarcsaid."We're seeing some isolated incidents where we're seeing flooding in some areas.So those are top priorities, and we send the crews and the contractors out."

The Department of Transportation is asking for people to contact them if theysee a ditch or culvert blocked up.

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