Several dozen homes cut off after road washout near Truro

Residents living in a subdivision in Valley, N.S., near Truro, are cut off from the rest of the community after heavy rainfall Saturday washed out a section of their road.

Hillvale Drive is the only road leading into the area that includes several dozen houses. The only way in or out is a trail that is suitable for walking or an ATV. 

According to Environment Canada, Truro received around 80 millimetres Saturday. 

Nigel Leggett, the chief of the Valley-Kemptown and District Fire Brigade, said the department worked on a plan for possible emergencies once they realized the area was cut off.

"If there was a fire in there, we would not be able to get in there with a fire truck, " said Leggett. "If it had've been a medical call, you would've probably been into portaging somebody out or flying somebody out."

By late Sunday afternoon, Nova Scotia Public Works crews had installed a new culvert, with the hopes of making the road accessible by the end of the day. In an email, the department said repairs have been a challenge because of the volume of water. 

Matthew Ward lives in the area. He said he drove on the road 20 minutes before it washed out.

He said people have concerns about accessibility to the community in case of emergency. 

"The residents here are worried if there's a fire, emergency services, there's issues," Ward said. 

"There's actually a school that's on our block.... So, if they're trapped in there or we have any major incidents in this block, there's no way out."

The road that washed away has been a safety concern for residents of Hillvale Drive for some time, according to Ward. He has emails sent to various government departments to alert them to places where the road had deteriorated.

CBC asked Public Works about past requests to fix the culvert, but they did not respond. 

Steve Payne also lives in the area. He said residents are unhappy the problem wasn't fixed sooner. But he is optimistic now that repairs are being done.  

"Everyone's frustrated, everybody's angry, but we're making the best of it and fingers crossed this crew that's here on the weekend will be able to get us out of the neighborhood and we'll just be hopeful it's gonna last," said Payne.