Highway 29N, 20 kilometres north of Chetwynd, B.C., is now open to single-lane alternating traffic following a mudslide.
The route was closed Friday morning after the slide, triggered on the highway between Chetwynd and Hudson’s Hope, which covered the road near Moberly Lake with debris.
A local maintenance contractor has mobilized equipment and is on site awaiting a geotech assessment, B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure told Global News. A geotech engineer is expected to be on scene soon to determine site safety before crews and equipment move in to begin cleaning up.
No homes have been directly impacted but according to the ministry, one person who lives in the slide zone chose to leave on their own as a precaution. The Peace River Regional District Emergency Operations Centre (PRRD EOC) has been notified.
The mudslide hit one day after an evacuation order for Old Fort, B.C., was expanded to include the islands south of Old Fort.
The entire community of Old Fort, south of Fort St. John, was ordered out on Oct. 7, due to a slow-moving and unpredictable landslide. The small subdivision was cut off on Sept. 30, when the slide destroyed the only road in and out of the community.
According to the Peace River Regional District, the main slide has already impacted one of the islands and new information regarding the west slide indicates the potential for increased “mobilization and depth of failure” causing a public safety risk.
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