Work has begun to re-open the Meadows in the Sky Parkway in Mount Revelstoke National Park by the end of July, says Parks Canada.
The parkway has been closed beyond kilometre 15 since late June when a landslide near Bridge Creek compromised the integrity of the roadway at kilometre 15.5. The landslide occurred down slope of the road along an unnamed creek that passes through a culvert below the road. Pictures provided by Parks Canada show the slide washed away a swath of land below the road, including a chunk of the shoulder, but the roadway itself remains intact.
The roadway will be re-aligned by moving it 1.3 metres into the mountainside, spokesperson Jacolyn Daniluck said last week. A gabion wall will be used to support the roadway along the compromised section, she said in an update Tuesday afternoon. A gabion wall involves filling large chain-link cylinders of blocks with rock and stacking them to provide support.
The work has begun following a geotechnical assessment by the firm EBA Engineering Consultants.
The landslide is visible from Arrow Heights and Johnson Heights and can be seen stretching more than 100 metres down the mountain side.
Currently the summit area of Mount Revelstoke National Park is still snowbound but “it is hoped that the summit will be snow-free by the time the road re-opens,” said Daniluck.
The parkway is open to vehicles until the Internment Camp lookout at kilometre 14. Pedestrians and cyclists are permitted until kilometre 15. Hikers are allowed up the Summit Trail, which crosses the parkway at kilometre 14.5.
The Meadows in the Sky Parkway is a major tourism draw in Revelstoke in the summer. According to Parks Canada, about 35,000 people visit the summit area each year in the short period during which it’s open.
