'We're trapped': Ice and water spill over banks of Magaguadavic River onto main roads

Rain and melting snow swelled Charlotte County's Magaguadavic River, causing local flooding over theweekend.

In Lee Settlement, just west of Saint John,a wall of ice was pushed over the riverbank, blocking Route 770 to traffic.

A steady stream of people stopped by on Sunday to take pictures.

• New Brunswick begins cleanup after weekend of heavy flooding
• New Brunswick's wild weather causes chaos across the province
• Musquash, N.B., residents free to return home as dam's water levels recede

Joey Matthews, who lives in the nearest home, estimatedthe ice covereda 150-metre length of the road.

"Luckily, it didn't do any damage," said Matthews.

"It tore up some trees and you can see it's piled up on the side of the river probably 12 feet high."

A few kilometresdownstream, Mike Day looked with dismay at theice extending across the Beney Road. Beneath it a metreof water effectively cutoff his only route out by car.

"We're trapped," he said on Sunday afternoon. "We were inside looking outside at the rainy weather and watching it grow, and grow, and grow some more. We were wondering if it was going to drain off and let us go. But I see that we're still stuck here."

Not the first time

The Magaguadavic River was the scene of serious flooding in 2010 that destroyed homes and cottages, causing millions of dollars in damage.

All gates were opened on two dams at St. George Falls in St. George onFriday. This was inanticipation of the close to 100 millimetres of rain that was expected. Water in the Maguadavic rose five metres Saturday upstream at Elmcroft, according to an Environment Canada gauge.

Moving ice also caused problems on the nearby Digdeguash River where it pressed up on the beams beneath the covered bridge at Rollingdam.

On Sunday, it was closed to motor vehicles onas a precaution.

Keith Holmes, a school bus driver, stopped to inspect the 76-year-old structure.

He said his route will take a lot longer if the bridge remains closed.

"It's going to be a humongous problem," said Keith.

"Somebody has to make that decision. I don't want to be the first one to drive across it."