Emergency crews respond after rocks fell on the Malahat near the summit Monday morning, which closed the road in both directions for nearly three hours.
The Malahat section of the Trans-Canada highway was closed for several hours Monday morning after a rock slide.
Both directions on #malahat now expected to be open #yyjtraffic @CHEK_News
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 10, 2018
A falling rock at Tunnel Hill, south of Bamberton, at around 8 a.m. shut the highway down in both directions. A northbound truck was hit by a rock that had crossed the southbound lane. The driver of the vehicle was not hurt.
According to Danielle Pope with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the rock was approximately 60 metres above the highway and was not in a ministry area. Pope said over the weekend, heavy rain occurred in the area, which likely led to the rock becoming dislodged.
Just before 11:30 a.m., the highway was reopened. Initially, only the northbound lanes were opened but the southbound lanes followed soon after.
Drivers saw a few delays after the highway had reopened.
OPEN – #BCHwy1 #VanIsle #Malahat open in both directions after earlier rockfall. Expect delays due to congestion. #VancouverIsland
— Drive BC (@DriveBC) September 10, 2018
Geotechnical engineers assessing rockfall on #Malahat, which is currently closed for safety at summit. This explains what happens after a rock hits a highway: https://t.co/PJEVVaSPan #yyj #yyjtraffic #yyj #yyjtraffic pic.twitter.com/QsdiHogWoX
— BC Transportation (@TranBC) September 10, 2018
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