Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
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Area residents view the collapsed section of Highway 83 near Asessippi Provincial Park on Monday evening. The collapsed section of highway is 29 kilometres south of Roblin in the Shell River Valley, near the intersection with Highway 366 near Inglis. The highway gave way Sunday and the hole is more than four-metres deep in places.
The province is waiting to fix a section of Highway 83 near Asessippi Provincial Park that collapsed on Sunday because the road is still moving.
Photos courtesy Karen Goraluk and Allison Zimmer June 2 & 3, 2012 The province has closed a section of Highway 83 near Asessippi ski hill after it collapsed. The collapsed portion is 12 miles north of Inglis and 18 miles south of Roblin in the Shell River Valley just after the turnoff to Highway 366 near Inglis. Highway 83 between Roblin and Russell is closed.
"It’s still moving, so it’s not going to be a quick fix," said Larry Halayko, director of contract services for Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation.
The province has closed the collapsed section of highway, which is 29 kilometres south of Roblin in the Shell River Valley, near the intersection with Highway 366 near Inglis.
Highway 83 between Roblin and Russell is closed.
Halayko said he could not give a time frame of when the road would be fixed, but said it could be closed for some time.
RM of Shellmouth Coun. Rick Goraluk said crews had been working to fix problems with Highway 83 for several days when a large section of road collapsed on Sunday. Goraluk said the hole is more than four metres deep in places, and he speculates a recent storm may have washed away part of the unstable road.
"It’s quite a mess," said Goraluk, who also operates Asessippi Beach and Campground. "It looks like something you see after a California earthquake."
Halayko said the road has been plagued with problems since it was built in the 1960s, and that the department has been working on a solution.
He said the road’s troubles are caused by its slope, accompanied by soil and moisture movement underneath the pavement.
"If you’re building a sand castle and you build it too steep and add water, it’s going to slough and slough," he said.
Halayko said the department was sending a geotechnical engineer to assess the site, and crews will also set up an official detour in the next few days.
Goraluk said the road had been dropping a few centimetres every day before the collapse.
"I don’t think they could do anything until it stops moving. If you stand there, you can actually see dirt moving," he said. "It’s been a problem for a long time."
Allison Zimmer, who lives in Inglis, was driving on the highway Saturday morning and noticed how much the road had dropped.
"I was a little nervous coming back," she said, adding the road had dropped about a half-metre then. "You could tell it was starting to give way."
Karen Goraluk, who runs the Asessippi Beach and Campground with her husband Rick, said she’s worried about the effect of the road closure on business.
"Everyone coming from the south will have to be diverted," she said. "Of course we’re concerned."
She said the road closure will be a deterrent for people coming to the campground and other neighbouring resorts, especially if they don’t want to take gravel roads.
"It’s going to be a long time before they fix it," she said.
The Asessippi Ski Area and Resort will close until July 13 because of the road collapse and of all the rain in the area recently, said Roz Pulo, director of marketing at the Asessippi Ski Area and Resort.
"It certainly has interfered with our traffic," she said, since the resort uses Highway 83 to bring tubers and other water-lovers to a nearby river.
However, she said because this is their slower season, she isn’t too worried, but hopes the province comes up with a solution in time for skiing season in the winter.
» Winnipeg Free Press
The province has closed a section of Highway 83 near Asessippi ski hill after it collapsed. The hole is more than four-metres deep in places. Photos courtesy of Karen Goraluk and Allison Zimmer.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition July 4, 2012
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The province is waiting to fix a section of Highway 83 near Asessippi Provincial Park that collapsed on Sunday because the road is still moving.
"It’s still moving, so it’s not going to be a quick fix," said Larry Halayko, director of contract services for Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation.
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The province is waiting to fix a section of Highway 83 near Asessippi Provincial Park that collapsed on Sunday because the road is still moving.
"It’s still moving, so it’s not going to be a quick fix," said Larry Halayko, director of contract services for Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation.
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