City of Kamloops crews work to clean up Hugh Allen Drive following a rock slide this weekend.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
March 04, 2013 - 5:07 PM
By Jennifer Stahn
Slick roads were not the only thing caused by the steady rain that soaked Kamloops Saturday night – it also contributed to a rock slide on Hugh Allan Drive behind the Costco gas station that saw rock spill over the concrete barriers and block both lanes of traffic.
Crews were on scene Monday morning breaking up the large pieces of rock and removing them in an effort to clean up the area as quickly as possible. Geotechnical requirements mean crews can only work during the day, but City of Kamloops Streets and Capital Projects Manager Kristen Meersman still hopes to have the road reopened by late Tuesday afternoon.
“We're striving for Tuesday afternoon, but it will be Wednesday at the latest,” she said Monday afternoon about Hugh Allan Drive reopening to vehicular and foot traffic.
Caused by a freeze-thaw cycle the rock fall was the largest seen in this location, though another incident earlier this spring by Summit Drive near the foot of the Overlanders Bridge. Knowing that areas of the city are prone to this type of rock fall the city does have some design features built in to help combat road closures. On Hugh Allan Drive where this weekend's rock slide occurred there is a deep ditch in behind the concrete barricades – both meant to help keep any rock fall off the road and out of site.
“Most times a motorist won't even notice the fallen rock,” she said, as the barricades and ditch hide the rock fall until the city can remove it. In this instance the rock fall was much more than what the ditch is meant to handle, which is why it spilled out on to the road Saturday evening.
Luckily only “one unfortunate motorist came upon the rock fall, it had already fallen,” Meersman said, noting the driver was not injured but would be dealing with ICBC following the incident.
To contact the reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call (250) 819-3723.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013