Highway 97 reopens

Highway 97 in Canada reopens today having been closed for 19 days. The construction teams have blasted 34,000 cubic metres from the crown of the landslide and have moved it to the toe. In consequence the slope has effectively stopped moving. The contractor will continue to monitor it to check that it remains stable, but the prognosis is probably good.

There is a terrific image gallery of the works here:


Well done to all involved.

Highway 97 update

Blast on the problem slope on Highway 97 (from CBCnews)

Attempts to deal with the slope problem on Highway 97 in Canada continue in a quietly controlled manner, and there are now some signs of success. The focus continues to be upon small blasts at the head of the slope to remove material, which is then transferred to the toe to support the mass and to protect the highway. The size of each blast is now reportedly 2000 cubic metres. The result of this work is that the rate of movement has slowed from over 10 mm per day to 8 mm per day now. However, care is needed in interpreting these movement data as the reduction could be caused natural variation or response to another stimulus (the slope could be draining for example).

Meanwhile the road is still closed indefinitely, and Houdini the goat appears to be in good health!