Highway 33 east of Kelowna could reopen Friday night after it was closed in both directions due to a washout.
Drive BC says the estimated time of re opening is 7 p.m. tomorrow.
The road failure is near Goudie Road in the Joe Rich area.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has provided photos of the ongoing repair work.
The significant washout occurred early Tuesday morning on Highway 33 just south of 8 Mile curve and closed the highway between Mission Creek Bridge to Kelowna.
The province said no one was hurt and no vehicles were damaged in the incident.
“Our geotechinical team was on site extremely quickly and is currently assessing the situation,” the ministry said in a statement.
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“Higher than average snowpacks in the south Okanagan are increasing the risk of mudslide and washouts, and ministry staff are doing everything possible to maintain safe conditions and minimize road closures.”
Drivers who need to get through the closure area can use Goudie Road and Cardinal Creek Road.
Those who live in the area voiced concerned that not enough was done to prevent the washout from happening.
“This is a continuing problem that the residents of Joe Rich have made the Ministry of Transportation and RDO aware of for some time now,” Shelley Duke, a Joe Rich resident, said. “There are soft spots in our highway, and this particular stretch of highway we knew was going to go.”
“Our children ride school buses on this highway every day. And thank goodness it happened at the time of the morning that it did.”
Duke is also concerned the winding detour can’t handle the big trucks.
“That road is not built to take that kind of weight or traffic, and it’s not in very good shape after the winter anyway,” she said.
The ministry later stopped commercial vehicles from going through the detour on Monday afternoon.
Commercial vehicles are required to use Highway 97 and Highway 3 through Osoyoos.
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