Rain tapers, but Yellowhead Trail still flooded
Heavy downpour submerged section near CN Rail Bridge. City crews working to reopen westbound lanes Tuesday.
A section of Yellowhead Trail between 97 Street and 124 Street flooded Monday after heavy rainfall, forcing crews to bail out water beneath the CN Rail Bridge and prompting the city to reroute traffic.
Environment Canada's yellow warning for Edmonton remains in effect Tuesday, with an additional 5 to 10 millimetres of rain expected on top of the 40 to 120 millimetres already fallen across Alberta since Saturday evening. Westbound traffic was reduced to a single lane, with significant delays expected during the afternoon commute.
Mayor Andrew Knack told reporters the city approved a $1.6 billion flood mitigation program in 2019 to prepare for extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent. He noted the stormwater system held up to the deluge.
"This is part of the ongoing work of Epcor to make sure our systems in place are resilient across the entire city," Knack said. "They've been constantly going across the city to build up the infrastructure for flood mitigation."
Lanes are expected to reopen Tuesday morning. The Alberta River Forecast Centre continues to advise of high streamflows in several waterways, with a flood watch in place for the Bow River and Pipestone River near Lake Louise.