The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure closed the Trans-Canada Highway east of the Yale tunnel last night as a result of a rockslide.
They add that there are no injuries from the falling rock, but have closed the highway and rail corridor until engineers can assess the situation and determine that it is safe for crews to begin cleaning up the material and reopen Highway 1.
“Geotechnical assessment is underway, but visibility is poor today,” said the Ministry spokesperson Danielle Pope in an email. “Crews are working as quickly as safely possible. Motorists planning to travel along Highway 1 should be aware that a detour is in place via Highway 5.”
They further advise drivers to check DriveBC for updates.
Emil Anderson Maintenance crews and heavy equipment are on-site to do scaling and to clear the debris, according to their Instagram post.
They add that some vehicles were damaged as a result of the slide but no injuries reported and that the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s geotechnical team has identified a number of rocks that are loose and may come down at any time, hence requiring scaling.
Scaling is a process where loose rocks on are removed to restore stability to a rock face.
“Rock fall tends to occur this time of year as we transition from winter to spring and experience freezing and thawing temperatures, which can fracture and loosen rocks through mountain passes,” said Pope. “We have seen more slides occurring this year because of the longer than usual winter weather, the heavy snowfall and additional run-off”
DriveBC has no estimate on what time the highway will be open.
Emil Anderson Maintenance was contacted, but referred questions to the Ministry.
