A mudslide on Highway 97A near Sicamous resulted in a large boulder blocking the roadway, Tuesday, March 14, 2017.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Ministry of Transportation
March 15, 2017 - 12:37 PM
SICAMOUS - Crews have given the all clear for Highway 97A to be reopened at the site of a mudslide that happened yesterday morning.
The slide sent debris, and a large boulder, onto the highway roughly 10 kilometres south of Sicamous on March 14. Following a complete road closure while an excavator and other equipment was being used, the Ministry of Transportation deemed the road safe for use as of 11:35 a.m. today, March 15.
No specific cause has been determined for the slide, but the Ministry of Transportation says the incident is not unusual.
“These types of events are fairly typical around this time of year as things are thawing out and rain is happening,” Steve Sirett, associate director for the Okanagan Shuswap District says.
The specific area is known to be prone to slides, which is why it had a catchment wall in place, Sirett says. He says some of the blocks were knocked out during the slide. The wall has been since been cleaned out and repaired by crews.
According to the Ministry of Transportation, mudslides are common at this time of year due to rain and the ground thawing.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Ministry of Transportation
Sirett couldn’t provide the exact reasons why the area is prone to slides, but says it’s not always economical to eliminate the root cause anyway.
“When it’s not practical (to remove the source), you mitigate the impact to the highway,” Sirett says.
A geotechnical engineer was on site to assess the situation and will be providing his results, and any recommendations he may have, to the ministry in the near future.
“At this time we’re opening the highway because we feel it’s safe to do so,” Sirett says. “We’ll do closer monitoring over the next couple of days.”
There was another mudslide on Highway 97A in 2015, however Sirett says it was a different location.
An excavator was used to repair the catchment wall.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Ministry of Transportation
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