The B.C. government is hoping vehicles will be able to travel along a section of Highway 19 on Vancouver Island that has been closed due to a sinkhole.
Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation, said during a rare Saturday press conference, where government officials provided a range of updates on the flooding and mudslide situations throughout B.C., that Highway 19 in Lantzville could reopen by Saturday night.
“We are hoping to get that reopened tonight,” Fleming said. “In the meantime, I would urge everybody to avoid that section of Highway 19 if you can.”
The highway — also known as East Island Highway/Island Highway — has been closed at Superior Road in Lantzville since Friday afternoon as crews continue to repair a sinkhole that first appeared in the middle of the road on Thursday.
A detour route has been established via Superior Road and Lantzville Road. However, motorists have reported lengthy delays along the route, something Fleming noted during Saturday’s press conference.
“There is a detour in place but the delays on this detour can be quite long.”
Although Highway 19 could reopen Saturday night, Fleming said it will take a significant amount of time for any kind of permanent fix to be put in place along the busy roadway.
“Permanent repairs will take likely upwards of months,” he said, noting that full repairs on the Malahat could also take just as much time.
RELATED: Highway 19 closed again in Lantzville as sinkhole repairs continue
Fleming also provided updates on other B.C. highways during Saturday’s press conference. He said Highway 7 between Hope and Agassiz reopened Friday as has Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) from Sunshine Valley to Allison Pass Summit, east of Hope. He noted that the stretch of highway between Agassiz and Princeton, which is subject to travel restrictions, has been performing well since its reopening.
“The full corridor was opened yesterday afternoon and I am pleased to say it has performed well and this has been extremely helpful for goods movement in British Columbia, connecting the Lower Mainland with the rest of the province,” said Fleming. “We’ve had roughly a couple hundred commercial vehicles that have now gone through.”
Fleming said the B.C. Trucking Association has advised him that it is taking trucks about 10 hours to get from Keremeos to 192nd Street and 24th Avenue in the Lower Mainland — a route that would normally take about half that time.
“That would normally take five to six hours, so it slow, as we expected yesterday,” said Fleming. “There are single-lane alternating traffic areas that are making that a slower route and people need to drive to conditions.”
There is still plenty of more work that needs to be done along Highway 3 said Fleming, adding that keeping the route open is “vital” to British Columbia.
“Keeping this corridor open right now is vital to British Columbia, it is vital to help where goods are running short, to get them on the move, through trucks to communities that are experiencing pinch points in our supply chain,” he said. “It’s vital to allow people who have been under the care and shelter of others to get home to see their family and loved ones.”
“Nothing larger than a cube truck will be allowed on the highway at this time, that is part of the orders, the highway will be open to two lanes, we will have maintenance contractors on will be on patrol and we expect to see some high traffic volumes as those communities are reconnected.”
Meanwhile, Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) between Chilliwack and Bridal Falls has been closed but “crews have made good progress” said Fleming, adding that he’s hopeful it will be open to limited travel by Saturday night.
“It is currently not under a travel order, but when it does reopen, we are going to ask people to be very careful,” said Fleming.
For the rest of Highway 1, particularly the section in the Sumas area, Fleming said it’s “too early” to tell when it could reopen, noting that it is still underwater.
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REMINDER – #BCHwy19 CLOSED due to roadway obstruction at Superior Rd., 4 km north of #Nanaimo. Detour in effect. Watch for traffic control. Detour via Superior Rd and Lantzville Rd.
For more information: https://t.co/BmlCpPCXGT#VanIsle #IslandHwyNorth— DriveBC VI (@DriveBC_VI) November 20, 2021
More photos of flooding repairs on #BCHwy19.
Road is closed 4 km north of #Nanaimo. Detour via Superior Rd and Lantzville Rd. @DriveBC for updates: https://t.co/1cAAZR4kZl pic.twitter.com/50OlQLU3fl— BC Transportation (@TranBC) November 19, 2021
Nicholas Pescod
