UPDATE 1:20 p.m.
B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation and Transit has confirmed the affected portion of Westside Road will be closed throughout the weekend.
Crews will be continuing clearing efforts throughout the weekend and install new culverts at the site. The ministry is stated they are anticipating Westside Road to be open to single-lane traffic "sometime" on Monday, April 7.
"The ministry, along with its maintenance contractors, is collaborating with local governments, Indigenous communities and stakeholders to ensure a coordinated and safe approach to the repairs," said the Ministry of Transportation and Transit in a press release. "Work is restricted to daylight hours. The ministry will provide updates about the schedule for reopening of the road as the work progresses."
Additionally, some users are not able to access the Traders Cove Transfer Station due to the landslide.
"Affected residents can take their household waste, yard waste and recyclables to the North Westside Transfer Station until further notice," stated the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO).
The hours for the North Westside Transfer Stations are:
- Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays: 8 a.m. until 12 p.m.
- Saturdays: 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Original
Efforts to clear the Westside Road landslide are underway but it's going to be a while before the stretch of road reopens, according to B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation and Transit.
"Following debris removal, the ministry will be able to better estimate the duration of the closure and the timeline for repairs/reopening," said the Ministry of Transportation and Transit in a statement to simplymastery. "Currently, there is no information on the condition of the road below, but repair materials are on site."
Westside Road between Main Street and Denison Road is expected to be closed until at least throughout the weekend. As well as the Ministry of Transportation and Transit, Central Okanagan Emergency Operations also doesn't have an estimated time of reopening, while DriveBC isn't planning its next update until Monday morning, April 7.
Work to clear the washout started on Thursday, April 3 and is ongoing with members of the Westbank First Nations and the Okanagan Indian Band, who are monitoring the site. In the afternoon, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit released a video of the damage and the clearing efforts.
"The debris field spanned approximately 50 metres in width and reached a depth of two metres," the Ministry of Transportation and Transit said in a statement to simplymastery.
The landslide occurred around 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1 and the stretch of road has been closed even since.
"The immediate focus is to complete interim repairs to get Westside Road safely re-opened," added the Ministry of Transportation and Transit. "Once complete, ministry engineers will review the site to ensure drainage and catchment areas are appropriate."
