Flood Details - 1982-04-27 - 1982-05-03

The normal spring freshet began with mild temperatures, very little rain and cool night resulting in only minor flooding and very little damage. Saint John River Basin: A washout, on the Canadian Pacific Railway line one and one-half miles [2.4 km] north of Aroostook Junction, occurred on May 28 resulting in the derailment of two locomotives. The two locomotives came to rest in the Saint John River, 30 feet to 40 feet [approx. 9 m to 12 m] below the track and one person was injured. The other cars remained on the track. At Fredericton, only minor flooding was reported. Precautions had been taken at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery by removing paintings from the basement. The cafeteria and lounge areas of the Legislative Building were shut down and items removed. The Union Street underpass was closed because of floodwaters. Floodwaters were also reported to cover about one-half of the road at the intersection of Wilsey and Lincoln Roads, and half of Riverside Drive. A portion of Highway #105 near Tripp Settlement Road at Keswick was partially submerged. At Lincoln, six families of Willow Trailer Park evacuated their mobile homes while another seven families decided to relocate their mobile homes to another site. Several inches [178 mm] of water covered the access road to the park. In the Maugerville area, about six inches [approx. 0.15 m] of water was flowing across a portion of the Trans Canada Highway near Dutch Drive-In but the highway remained passable until April 29. The highway was then closed when the situation became dangerous due to debris and erosion. It was reopened at about 11:00 a.m. on May 1. Flooding also forced the closure the Highway #670 between McGowan¿s Corner and Lakeville Corner and the suspension of operations of the Gagetown Ferry.

Flood levels at Willow Trailer Park were reported to be about 23.1 feet [7.04 m] on the April 28. At Fredericton and Maugerville, water levels of 23.3 feet [7.10 m] and 20.2 feet [6.16 m] respectively were reported on the evening of the 28th. Levels for August 29 were reported as 23.4 feet and 20.6 feet respectively for Fredericton and Maugerville. Water levels were reported to be 22.8, 20.4 and 16.2 feet respectively for Fredericton, Maugerville and Jemseg on April 30. By May 2, water levels had dropped to 19.7 ft [6.00 m], 18.6 ft [5.67 m] and 16.1 ft [4.91 m] respectively at Fredericton, Maugerville and Jemseg. Water levels continued to decline on May 3 to 19.4 ft [5.81 m], 18.1 ft [5.52 m] and 16 ft [4.88 m].

No estimates of the flood damage were presented. Two CPR locomotives derailed near Aroostook Junction. The injured operator of the derailed train received a broken pelvis, and the engineer and head-end trainman, who jumped from the train when they saw the washout, received bruises. A Canadian Pacific repair train was dispatched from Montreal to lift the derailed locomotives from the river and repair the track near Aroostook Junction. The C.P.R. constructed a diversion around the washout and trains were running on schedule within a few days.