On June 20, at the height of the flood that ravaged Southern Alberta, Kananaskis and Bragg Creek in particular, the Elbow River surged over its banks and ripped through the hamlet, starting with Highway 758 just upstream from the Trading Post store. According to instream flow monitoring equipment, the amount of water flowing through Bragg Creek was about 5 times greater than the last “flood of the century” that occurred in 2005. The thing is, the effect of the 2013 flood was immeasureably greater than the previous flood as it picked up tonnes of dirt and gravel and carried it downstream, along White Avenue and into the hamlet. The Infusion restaurant filled with mud. The building was condemned, torn down and lost to our community. The Trading Post itself, an iconic business, was mostly destroyed and news reports on Friday, September 27 say that they have been denied a permit to rebuild. That is a bit like saying our community is not allowed to rebuild.
Alberta Transportation announced that Highway 758, the extension of White Avenue that runs through the hamlet, past the Trading Post, alongside the Elbow River and past the Provincial Park has reopened. This is of course great news, but we have a long way to go to renew and rebuild our community. What are the propects for residents and businesses who have lost their homes and their livelihoods?
Photos show the impact of the flood and the work done to rebuild the highway
On the few really hot days in summer children loved to play in the river. This photo, taken near the Trading Post, is looking upstream. Most of the shoreline on the left, including all the rip-rap washed away in the 2013 flood.
The river has been transformed. There used to be islands here with small trees and brush growing on them. When the water level was low you could walk onto the islands using them like giant stepping stones to get to the park. Now only a steep embankment remains.
On September 28, just 100 days after the flood wiped out the road and the shoreline, Highway 758 has been rebuilt and paved. A lot of work remains to be done on the shoreline in particular, but the roadt through Bragg Creek and on to the park is open. It is interesting to note that they have added an extra wide shoulder on the left for cyclists.
The heavy equipment dig gravel out of the river bed and from the shoreline building a massive pile of material that will be used to rebuild the roadbed and reconsruct the shoreline. The river that flows on the right will be moved over to the left and a new shoreline with a small recreation area between the road and the river will be built.
Shocking! The shoreline was armored with large rocks known as rip-rap. The road was poured and packed ashphalt. It is hard to imagine how water could lift and carry away such seemingly permanent intallations. It was the earth moving force of the rushing river that was so destructive. It is one thing to be inundated; entirely another to have the landscape transformed. You can see the red roof of the Trading Post store in the distance.
In 2005 the Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association built a trail connecting the provincial park to the hamlet of Bragg Creek. A large portion of the trail ran along the shore of the Elbow River and over a few small islands. In this photo you can see the islands as small trees just above the centre of the frame. All of this disappeared in the flood.
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Video of the Trading Post as it was before the flood.
