Motorists can expect an extra delay on Highway 97 in Summerland tonight.

The four-lane section of the highway near Lakeshore Drive South has been reduced to one lane since a slide on May 15.

Following the slide, a geotechnical assessment determined that approximately 4,000 cubic metres of unstable material needs to come down.

“The ministry has been gradually bringing down slope material in a safe controlled manner through a combination of the air bag technique, in which air bags are lowered into tension cracks of unstable material and inflated to expand the cracks and dislodge material, and rock scaling,” a spokesperson for B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said in an email.

The spokesperson said the ministry has a goal of restoring two-way traffic by the end of the upcoming week, and it's estimated the project will be completed by mid-July.

That stretch of Highway 97 will be closed for an hour again tonight, June 25, from 7 to 8 p.m. A detour will be available. 

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