Weekend rains shut down major North-South corridor

Photos show extent of mudslide which closed Highway 37.

[This story originally appeared on The North Coast Review, a blog based in Prince Rupert that contains “items of interest to those living on the North Coast of BC.”]

The weekend rains made for many issues for Northwest travellers and one major North-South corridor is among those dealing with the fury of Mother Nature with a huge mudslide near Bell 2 having closed highway 37 North.

The road was closed on Monday as a giant mudslide crossed the highway north of the small stop on the highway north to the Yukon, with geotechnical engineers to be on site this morning to assess the situation.

A wide scale mudslide has closed Highway 37 just north of Bell 2
(photo from BC Lakes Stikine Transportation twitter feed)

The road will remain closed as highways personnel decide on the next steps, making for a significant detour through Prince George for those travelling North or South in the Northwest. The next update on the Bell2 situation is expected at 1PM.

Also in that region of the Northwest an advisory is now in place for residents of the Meziadin/Stewart areas with high water causing erosion and flooding along that portion of the highway.

As we noted over the previous 48 hours, the weekend rains had an impact in the Prince Rupert area and the Nass Valley as well. 

Saturday night, an overflowing ditch made for challenging conditions along Highway 16 at the Port Ed Turnoff as well as for the road into the District.
The Nisga’a Higway was closed on Saturday night following a rockslide between Laxgalts’ap and Gingolx, traffic was travelling through that area by noon on Sunday.

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Adrian Raeside, The Other Coast

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