High water blamed for Highway 97 sinkhole in Vernon

Transportation officials believe high water is likely what caused a sinkhole to form on Highway 97 in Vernon Tuesday evening.

READ MORE: Sinkhole closes Highway 97 at Vernon

The creek that runs through a culvert under the highway is currently running very high as the region continues to struggle with flooding.

A Ministry of Transportation district manager believes water likely got through a joint in the culvert and washed away other material underneath the road creating the sinkhole. However, officials have yet to pin down the exact cause.

“There is so much water there it is hard to know exactly what happened yet,” said Jack Bennetto, a district manager with the Ministry of Transportation.

As of late Wednesday morning, a large pit remained in the northbound lanes of Highway 97 at the base of Hospital Hill.

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The highway was completely closed to traffic Tuesday evening after the sinkhole was discovered. The southbound lanes have since reopened.

WATCH: Huge sinkhole closes Highway 97 near Vernon 

0:47 Huge sinkhole closes Highway 97 near Vernon

As of midday Wednesday, a single lane of traffic in each direction was getting by the sinkhole.

However, the partial road closure was backing up traffic up Hospital Hill.

The Ministry of Transportation is hoping to fully reopen the highway before the weekend.

Only the northbound lanes were damaged by the sinkhole.