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Rock Slide Could Block B.C. Highway for Five Days

by Jarrett Martineau | July 31, 2008 at 08:41 am

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As NowPublic reported yesterday, a massive rock slide closed the Sea to Sky highway between Vancouver and Whistler and officials are now stating that it could take until mid-next week before the highway is able to be reopened.

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It could be five days before the Sea to Sky Highway near Vancouver is reopened following a massive rock slide on Tuesday night.

Highway 99 is the only direct route between Vancouver and Whistler, the intended venue for many of the 2010 Olympic events.

Unfortunately for those affected by the closure, the only alternate route available to motorists is a lengthy detour through Lytton, Lilloet, and Pemberton:

All lanes of traffic and a rail line were blocked with truck-sized boulders, which B.C.'s Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said likely won't be fully cleared until next week.

By Thursday, officials were preparing the site for blasting to begin clearing the roadway to allow traffic to once again use the vital artery. Stabilization and bolting must also be completed before the roadway is reopened.

In the meantime, motorists' only other option is to take an eight-hour detour between the two cities.

In order for clean up efforts to continue, crews are preparing to blast a large piece of rock overhanging the site of the slide:

Crews are preparing to blast a dangerous piece of rock overhanging the site of a massive rock slide that closed the Sea-to-Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.

An entire cliff face collapsed late Tuesday night near Porteau Cove, between Lions Bay and Furry Creek, burying the two lanes of Highway 99 and a nearby railway line under as much as 10 metres of rock.