Prince George - The Pine Pass on Highway 97 between Prince George and

Chetwynd has been reopened, Transportation and Infrastructure Shirley

Bond Minister announced today.

 

"Parts of B.C. are experiencing avalanche conditions that we haven't

seen in about 30 years," said Bond. "Our avalanche technicians and

maintenance crews are working around the clock to ensure our roads are

safe, and we've made some great progress today with reopening the Pine

Pass less than 24 hours after the avalanche came down."

 

Highway 97 at Pine Pass, approximately 70 km south of Chetwynd, was

closed by an avalanche on Sunday afternoon, which left the highway

covered with as much as two metres of avalanche debris. Avalanche

technicians mobilized overnight, assessed the alpine area by helicopter,

triggered additional avalanches to clear the snow pack and determined

the area is safe for workers and motorists. The road is now open to

single-lane alternating traffic. Motorists can expect delays of up to 20

minutes.

 

Highway 1 through the Rogers Pass east of Revelstoke has also been

reopened.

 

Highway 1 east of Golden, through the Kicking Horse Canyon, remains

closed, with a six kilometre-long section affected by avalanches. The

low ceiling has kept the Province's avalanche control technicians on the

ground today. The estimated time of reopening for this stretch of

highway is Wednesday, weather permitting.

 

Highway 93 from Radium to the Alberta border through Kootenay National

Park will also remain closed overnight but there's a high likelihood

that it will reopen on Tuesday.

 

Other routes that remain closed because of high avalanche hazard are:

* Highway 1 from Field to Lake Louise

* Highway 23 from Revelstoke to Mica Dam

* Highway 31 from Gerrard Bridge to the junction with Highway 23

* Highway 31A from Kaslo to New Denver

* Highway 3 in Kootenay Pass has a short-term closure in effect

 

"Maintenance crews are out in full force across the province patrolling

the highway 24/7, along with plowing and sanding," said Bond. "With

changing weather conditions, it's important you "know before you go" and

check DriveBC before deciding to travel. All travel advisories are

posted on DriveBC, and you can check out road conditions in real-time on

175 webcams strategically placed around the province."