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Rock slide shuts down Highway 3 near Christina Lake

No injuries, property damage after rocky hillside lets go, says highway contractor
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A rockslide covers Highway 3 east of Christina Lake Wednesday, Feb. 9. Photo: Submitted

A rock slide closed down a section of Highway 3 on the eastern outskirts of Christina Lake Wednesday morning, Feb. 9, according to the Ministry of Transportation.

The highway is closed to both lanes of traffic along a two-kilometre stretch between East Lake Drive and the Paulson Summit, leaving no detour route for motorists, the ministry reported.

Greg McNeil, manager of operations at the highway contractor Yellowhead Road and Bridge (YRB), said the slide happened at around 6:15 a.m., when a rocky outcrop gave way between the municipality of Christina Lake and East Lake Drive. The slide covered a roughly 20-metre length of the highway, piling rocks between three and 15 metres high.

No one was hurt and there was no damage to property, McNeil told The Gazette.

A YRB crew is now on-site, where McNeil said they are waiting for safety clearance by geotechnical engineer en-route from Nelson. Mounties are currently re-directing traffic.

YRB hopes to open the highway to single-lane alternating traffic by noon Wednesday. The highway could re-open in both directions as early as 4 p.m., McNeil said.

The full extent of the damage to the highway surface wasn’t clear as of 8:30 a.m., though McNeil estimated that a highway side ditch absorbed the brunt of the impact.


 

@ltritsch1
laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.ca

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laurie.tritschler@boundarycreektimes.com

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