The Tiger Dam is coming down.
Crews are on site Thursday morning to remove the dam that went up Sunday evening (Nov. 28) across Highway 1 at Cole Road in Abbotsford.
It’s not known how long it will take to remove the structure or when Highway 1 will reopen to traffic from Abbotsford to Chilliwack.
The dam was installed by crews from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Canadian Armed Forces and the City of Abbotsford to try to keep floodwaters in the Sumas River so they could be directed to the Barrowtown Pump Station and into the Fraser River.
RELATED: ‘Tiger Dam’ being built on Highway 1 in Abbotsford to hold back floodwaters
The decision to install the dam was made because of the potential risk of increased flooding as the second of three atmospheric rivers hit the region over the weekend.
The third system occurred Tuesday and Wednesday, and there are no further heavy rainfalls in the immediate forecast.
A Tiger Dam is a series of water-filled tubes over a metre in height that create a barrier. It is created on flat ground and anchored into the pavement at regular intervals along the length of the dam.
The structure was built near Cole Road because that area is lower in elevation than portions west of there and had a greater potential for flooding.
Emergency Management BC had the Tiger Dam on hand as part of its stock of flood-protection products.
RELATED: ‘Tiger Dam’ in Abbotsford in place until ‘imminent threat’ of new flooding is over
vhopes@abbynews.com
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Crews are on site Thursday morning (Dec. 2) to remove the Tiger Dam across Highway 1 at Cole Road in Abbotsford. (Photo: Abbotsford Police Department)
