B.C. highway to remain closed for days due to rockslide

Highway 3A connects the communities of Kaleden and Keremeos, southwest of Penticton. (Castanet)

A highway through the British Columbia Interior is expected to remain closed for days after a rockslide spilled debris onto the roadway.

The provincial Transportation Ministry says Highway 3A will be closed to traffic until at least Saturday as workers assess the slope’s stability before beginning cleanup efforts at the site near Yellow Lake.

The affected highway connects the communities of Kaleden and Keremeos, southwest of Penticton.

A geotechnical assessment has determined that blasting and rock removal will be required before any cleanup of the roadway can begin, the province announced Wednesday.

“That work plan is in development,” the statement from the ministry said.

“Crews and equipment will be ready to start cleaning up the site as soon as the area is deemed safe by geotechnical engineers.”

According to the ministry, the slide occurred Tuesday morning within a “known rock-fall area” approximately 15 kilometres northeast of Keremeos.

Rockslide catchment ditches at the site helped reduce the amount of debris that made it onto the highway during the slide, the province added.

Travellers are advised that a detour route is available via Highway 97 and Highway 3, which the province estimates adds about 70 minutes of travel time compared to the Highway 3A connector.

A landslide earlier this month near West Kelowna proved deadly after a vehicle was swept into Okanagan Lake, prompting a multi-day search for the driver whose body was located Saturday.