17 May 2006
Rock Slide Forces 2-Day TCH Closure
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The scene from above Saturday afternoon after dynamite was used to
blast the remaining loose material from the hillside.
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Continual rock slide activity and thousands of cubic metres of resultant debris clogged the
Trans-Canada Highway in the Kicking Horse Canyon, keeping the corridor closed over the entire weekend.
The slide began at around 10 a.m. Friday on a hill adjacent to the highway 10 km east of Golden - 200 metres east of the
10-Mile Bridge - a section which, according to Ministry of Transportation spokesman Jeff Knight, has a "definite
history of instability"; part of the reason for the major realignment work currently being done along that stretch.
Though no injuries were reported, the highway was promptly closed due to concern for public safety as crews worked throughout the day to
clear fallen debris and stabilize the slope using heavy equipment to remove all remaining loose material from the slope side.
Approximately 25 semi drivers opted to wait out the delay at first, but most eastbound motorists were re-routed south along
Hwy. 93/95 through Radium.
Some of the slide's boulders had so much momentum as they rolled down the slope, that they ripped through a protective fence, bounced
off the road surface, over a barrier alongside the eastbound lanes, and cascaded down into the canyon to the CP Railway tracks below.
"There were a couple that ran off the road and got down to the tracks," said MOT area manager Art McClean at the slide site
Friday evening. "But CPR are well aware of the event and have had somebody down there monitoring things."
The MOT at first had hoped the road could be re-opened by Friday evening. It soon became clear, however, that this would
not be possible, as the hillside showed it was still quite active.
"It's been gradually just unravelling and unravelling," McClean said. "It will pick up, have a big release, and then go
quiet for a little while. Then it will open up again and with more. It's been very hard to predict - in fact, it's been
impossible."
MOT officials ordered the highway remain closed over Friday night and ultimately throughout Saturday, when crews used dynamite to blast
nearly 5,000 cubic metres of dirt and rocks from the unstable slope and expedite the clearing operation along the road below.
The crews were to then build a temporary lock-block retaining wall to ensure any further minor material could not end up
on the road surface.
An identical barrier exists only metres away from the area of activity, previously contained only by a chain-link fence.
"Their plan had been to extend it," says McClean, "but this started to happen before they had the chance."
Clearing operations carried on through Saturday night and into Sunday, with officials still perceiving the slope was unstable.
MOT's geo-technical engineer ultimately authorized re-opening the TCH late Sunday night. "There's been
an assessment completed, the highway's been cleared and it's deemed safe to open," said Knight.
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