A section of Highway 97 in the South Okanagan, covered by two landslides earlier this year, is back to having all four lanes open to traffic.
On Tuesday, AIM Roads announced that remedial work on the section, located just south of Summerland, was finally finished.
“Be advised both of the southbound lanes are reduced to 60 km/h and temporary road lines are in place,” AIM Roads said on its Facebook page.
“Use caution if the road is wet as it may be slippery.”
Material from a silt bluff near the highway gave way on Monday, May 15, resulting in an hours-long closure affecting both northbound and southbound traffic.
The Ministry of Transportation estimated the slide at 120 metres long, with 40 metres covering the highway.
The slide was cleared enough for traffic to allow single-lane, alternating traffic flowing again. However, three weeks later, another slide on Monday evening, June 5, covered the highway.
That slide happened just 200 metres from the slide in May.
This slide was measured at approximately 175 cubic metres of material. Dust and rubble covered the highway, with slide material making its way into nearby Okanagan Lake.
Following the two slides, the highway underwent several temporary closures as crews blasted the bluff to prevent more slides.
The Ministry of Transportation estimated that there were 4,000 cubic metres of unstable material that needed to be brought down.
The project had a tentative finish date of mid-July.
Comments