All roads closed due to flooding from last week’s above-seasonal temperatures have been reopened, say Bracebridge public works staff.

Town director of public works Ron Walton said Vankoughnet Road, Black River Road and Thompson Road, located just east of Vankoughnet, have all been reopened to traffic as of Monday.

Each roadway experienced significant flooding last week when the Black River swelled over its banks following an early January thaw, followed by a fierce winter windstorm Jan. 9. Some parts of the roads had as much as three to four feet of water.

The flooding started Wednesday night, stranding some residents in their homes for several days.

“We couldn’t get down the road,” said Sandra Conway, who lives on Black River Road.

Conway and some of her neighbours had to use boats to gain access to and from their properties for the latter part of last week.

A similar situation reportedly occurred on Thompson Road.

Waters, however, began to recede Saturday, and both roads were accessible again by Monday, Walton indicated.

Other town roads impacted by washouts, such as Fraserburg Road, have also been repaired, he said.

During the worst of the storm, several larger district roads, including Muskoka Road 3 in Huntsville, Housey’s Rapids Road in Gravenhurst, and Muskoka Road 10 in Port Sydney were also closed due to weather-related conditions, such as washouts and downed electrical lines.

Noel Waters, district manager of roads, said all of these roads have since been reopened.

Both town and district staff, however, are still busy cleaning up storm debris and repairing broken culverts, Waters said.

Huntsville continues to be the worst hit by flooding as the Big East River waters rose. On Jan. 9, Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty declared a localized flood emergency, and the town began to evacuate residents in the flood-prone areas of Rivercove, Old North Road, Glen Acres Road and Bridgeview Lane. In all, approximately 200 residents were evacuated from about 125 homes.

Doughty said roads should be open and all homes accessible by today, but some people may not be able to stay in their homes once they return.

“It will be (the homeowner’s) decision whether they’re habitable, whether they’ll have to do some remediation, cleanup, all of those things. But at least the roads will be safely passable so they can get back to them,” said Doughty Friday.

He estimates damage from the flooding is “in the millions.”

With files from Carlye Malchuk