Slides span the Interior

Crews have been working through the night to fix a section of Highway 33 that collapsed during a washout on Tuesday.

The repair is expected to take the next couple of days to repair, and wet conditions are posing a challenge.

“We are hauling lots of material, and it has been a bit of a challenge to get going because of how saturated the ground is,” said district program manager for Okanagan Shuswap District Office Steve Sirett.

A rock base is being built to allow crews to get the fill back in and the goal is to control the water that is flowing through the bank.

“Crews are going to continue to work through the night to get the road open,” said Sirett.

Come Thursday morning, they will assess how much work was accomplished on the area.

Several locations across the Southern Interior have also experienced forms of land sliding, but Sirett said this isn’t a unique year.

“This time of year, this stuff isn’t uncommon for us. We see various slides of various sizes each spring,” he said. “I wouldn’t say this is a unique year.”

But one thing is different this year, making this more difficult.

“All over the Okanagan, the grounds are extremely saturated,” said Sirett. “It is just one of those years where the ground water is higher than normal.”

A detour is set up for travellers by Goudie Road and Cardinal Creek Road. Commercial vehicles are required to use Highway 97 and Highway 3.