Decker Lake resident Yvonne LeBlanc purchased her home on Brewer Avenue in August 2013. LeBlanc said that when she purchased her home, there was a culvert in her driveway in good condition.
“It [the culvert] had no holes in the top like it does now,” she said.
When the ice and snow melted earlier this spring, LeBlanc noticed a gaping hole in the culvert. Now, with a damaged culvert, LeBlanc has some concerns.
“It [the culvert] is definitely unsafe and may damage a vehicle,” she said. “Also, the culvert will be useless for water drainage once it fills up with dirt and gravel that will pour in the hole.”
Lakes District Maintenance (LDM) maintains Brewer Avenue, and admitted damaging the culvert while plowing snow. However, Ray Maher, LDM’s Quality and Systems Manager, says it is not LDM’s responsibility to repair the culvert.
“We are not responsible for private driveways or culverts that are in the private driveway; it is not part of our contract,” he said.
Maher added that the culvert had not been properly installed.
“The culvert was sticking out of the ground, and that was the reason for the damage,” he said. “If a culvert is not installed properly in a private drive, we are not responsible if it is damaged by highway maintenance equipment.”
LeBlanc was not convinced by LDM’s explanation, and said she feels it is LDM’s responsibility to repair the damage they have caused.
Lakes District Maintenance found a temporary solution to the problem by placing a piece of wood in the hole and throwing dirt on top of it. But according to LeBlanc, this only made the ridge above ground even higher.
After the snowfall of May 4, 2015, LDM plowed snow again on Brewer Avenue and accidently tore off the patch they had placed on the culvert.
“Lakes District Maintenance was unwilling to satisfactorily take care of the damage they did to the culvert after they damaged it twice,” said LeBlanc. “It is ridiculous.”
According to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, private driveways – including culverts – are the responsibility of individual homeowners; this includes proper installation and maintenance.
“We were advised by the contractor [Lakes District Maintenance] the damage was, at least in part, due to the shallow installation of the culvert, which is ultimately the responsibility of the homeowner,” said Lisanne Bowness, Senior Public Affairs Officer for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Bowness added that the ministry’s maintenance contractor has been in touch with the homeowner [LeBlanc] and has offered to install a new culvert.
“The ministry’s district office in Smithers is also working to contact the homeowner to ensure the situation is rectified,” said Bowness.
Meanwhile, LeBlanc found a temporary solution to the problem.
“We had to dig it out and it [the culvert] is sitting on the side of the road now, so it would not cause damage to vehicles pulling into my driveway.”
