400-metre tension crack detected at Site C

Thirty road construction workers had to be reassigned after a tension crack, 400 metres in length, was detected at the Site C dam project in northeastern British Columbia.

BC Hydro says for the past 19 months, work has been underway to remove unstable soil in order to create stable slopes for eventual dam construction.

During the construction of a haul road to support this excavation work, a tension crack has appeared.

BC Hydro says tension cracks are not unexpected in this area, but this particular crack requires attention due to its significant length.

Technical experts are now assessing the crack, and there are instruments in place to measure and monitor its stability.

BC Hydro says while there was some initial movement of soil, it has now stabilized. The corporation will now have to figure out how to continue soil removal, which, it says, will need to be undertaken carefully to maintain the stability of the slope.

There are more than 1,500 workers employed at the construction site.

The Site C dam is estimated to cost upward of $8 billion and will generate 5,100 gigawatts of energy each year once it is completed in 2024 — enough to power the equivalent of 450,000 homes per year. The project got environmental approval in 2014, but has also garnered a great deal of controversy, with opponents saying it is a waste of taxpayer money, an ecological threat and an infringement on First Nations’ rights.

Global News has a call in to BC Hydro for a comment on any injuries or loss of equipment as the result of the crack.

-With files from the Canadian Press