Aerial view of the washout of the Yellowhead Highway at Chappell Creek, north of Blue River/via Emil Anderson Maintenance
As the extent of the damage from flooding along the Yellowhead Highway in the North Thompson corridor becomes clearer, the section of roadway connecting BC to northern Alberta is going to be a challenge to navigate for quite some time.
At the same time, don’t expect a lot of updates on damage assessment and reconstruction along the stretch between Blue River and Valemount, which authorities are suggesting is going to take “weeks,” rather than days.
In a brief online statement Wednesday morning, road maintenance firm for the region Emil Anderson says its crews are at the damaged locations looking over what needs to be done.
“Crews are actively on-site assessing and addressing areas impacted by flooding along Highway 5 South,” said Emil Anderson through its offices based in Tete Jaune Cache. “These efforts are focused on ensuring public safety and restoring normal traffic operations as quickly and safely as possible.”
An aerial photo of the damage to the Chappell Creek section of the route shows a significant amount of damage to the east side of the highway, where much of the passing lane has been completely washed away for at least a kilometer.
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- Wide view of damage done to Yellowhead at Chappell Creek after nearby creek spills over due to freshet/via Emil Anderson
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- Closer view of damage done to Yellowhead at Chappell Creek after nearby creek spills over due to freshet/via Emil Anderson
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- Closer view of damage done to Yellowhead at Chappell Creek after nearby creek spills over due to freshet/via Emil Anderson
Emil Anderson notes traffic is still flowing past the trouble spots, but is down to single-lane, alternating traffic, with speed reduction zones in place as well.
While open, the company is asking motorists to be cautious and patient for the safety of the road crews, as well as themselves, given the damage that has been done.
Notification on DriveBC indicating single-lane, alternating traffic at Allan Creek washout. Chappell Creek washout (aprox. 20 kilometers south) indicated with red triangle below/via Drive BC
The update follows a similar notification sent by the Ministry of Transportation and Transit to Radio NL late Tuesday, stating the damage to the Yellowhead Highway at Allan Creek will result in similar restrictions “for the coming weeks.”
Above normal temperatures toward the end of May in the North Thompson region activated the spring freshet over the weekend, inundating local creeks running between Blue River and Valemount, which then began chewing away at the Highway itself.
As part of its Wednesday morning statement, Emil Anderson says it does not expect to provide and update until Monday, June 9th.
DriveBC says its next update on the washout of the Yellowhead at Chappell Creek won’t be until Tuesday.
