UPDATE, 3 P.M.:
Highway 97 at Dragon Lake Hill is now open to traffic.
UPDATE:
Dave Mosure, Community Relations Coordinator for BC Hydro, has confirmed the downed power line is a result of a vehicle accident.
They received the call at 1:09 p.m.
Crews are onsite fixing the problem. There is no definitive time on when the repairs will be completed.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Traffic is stopped both ways on Highway 97 between North Star Road and Racing Road due to a downed power line as of 1:40 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 8).
Bill Pattyson, Operation Manager for Emcon, says it will be about an hour before the lines are picked up.
In the meantime, light vehicle traffic is being detoured through Maple Drive and Plywood Road and back onto Highway 97 in both directions.
Heavier vehicles are being parked wherever they can find a place, as the Johnston Bridge is restricted to 10,000 kg.
Emcon has traffic control in place and they are diverting traffic.
Sgt. Chris Riddle of the Quesnel RCMP says officers are on scene to make sure no one drives over the downed line.
According to BC Hydro, a crew has been assigned and there are less than five customers affected by the outage.
ronan.odoherty@quesnelobserver.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
