Workers re-open Trans-Canada in British Columbia

REVELSTOKE, B.C. (March 14, 2003) — Road crews reopened the Trans-Canada Highway between Revelstoke, B.C., and the Alberta border early this morning after an avalanche had closed the route since Tuesday.

A series of slides buried a 100-yard-wide section of the road 20 miles east of Revelstoke, B.C., under six feet of snow.

Provincial transport officials said weather conditions complicated efforts to restore traffic on the highway, a main east-west corridor between Vancouver and Alberta used by approximately 3,000 trucks per day.

A road report this morning said the route is open but warned of limited visibility due to dense fog from Revelstoke to Golden. The road is “bare with slushy and slippery sections,” the report said.

Complicating matters for truckers, other sections of the Trans-Canada as well as several potential alternative routes have been closed due to the threat of further slides. Yesterday, Parks Canada closed the Icefields Parkway running north from Lake Louise, and the Trans-Canada between Lake Louise, Alta., and Golden, B.C.

Kim Royal of the Alberta Motor Transport Association told Reuters the impact of the delays on truckers has been severe. The only likely alternative route to Vancouver is to drive north to Edmonton then south to Kamloops, B.C., via Jasper, Alta., adding as much as 10 hours to the trip, Royal said.

The added distance and time mean higher fuel and labour costs.