Work on the Highway 97 rockslide near Summerland will continue through the Family Day long weekend, the Ministry of Transportation announced on Friday.
There’s still no set date when the highway will be reopened to traffic, with the ministry saying it will do another reassessment on Tuesday after Family Day on Monday.
However, the ministry did say it is seeing continued improvement at the rockslide site, and is hoping on Tuesday to offer a possible timeline as to when Highway 97 will be reopened.
WATCH BELOW: (Aired Feb. 11, 2019) The Callan Road detour
“We are continuing to see signs of stabilization at the site, and we are encouraged that there’s been no slide movement recorded in the past two days,” said Mike Lorimer, executive director for the Southern Interior region.
“Our geotechnical assessments are ongoing and we will be looking to see how the slide reacts as temperatures continue to warm. Scaling, drilling and blasting will continue through the long weekend.
“In addition to scaling activities, an excavator has been safely working the site since Wednesday after blasting removed some overhanging rock. The excavator is removing rock and creating a ramp up the north side of the slope to allow access for equipment.”
To date, the ministry says it has spent around $500,000 in trying to clear the site and adding the Callan Road detour. Lorimer predicts another $300,000 to $400,000 in expenditures if all goes smoothly.
“Moving forward, that ultimate cost is really going to be driven by what is the final solution,” said Lorimer. “If we’re able to reach that stable face and just remove the rock that’s on site, we estimate another $300,000 to $400,000.
“If we’re into something that we have to construct, and that will be based on the geotech assessment, that range would be tough to predict at this time. But it’s not inconceivable to say at the end of the day it could be $1 million for the slide.”
In regards to the blasting, the drill holes are between eight and 12 feet deep, with around 700 to 800 cubic metres of dirt and rock having been removed so far.
The ministry said it removed around 500 cubic metres from the rockslide before slope movement started occurring. When that happened, work was briefly stopped for assessment. The ministry estimates approximately 6,000 cubic metres of slide material still needs to be removed.
Lorimer said the Callan Road detour is continuing to work well, and that motorists should expect delays of up to 45 minutes when blasting occurs. The speed limit for the 900-metre detour is 30 km/h. Pedestrians and bicycles are not allowed on the detour, and commercial vehicles that exceed 3.8 metres in width can only use the detour between midnight and 5 a.m.