Highway 97 in B.C. Interior reopens to single-lane alternating traffic ahead of schedule

The critical Highway 97 route connecting the central and south Okanagan regions in the B.C. Interior reopened ahead of schedule on Monday.

A statement from the B.C. Transportation Ministry said that the route, which was closed north of Summerland due to a rock slideon Aug. 28, reopened to single-lane alternating traffic around 6 p.m. Monday.

It warnsthat drivers on the route can expect delays of up to 30 minutes during peak travel times and that the stretch may be closed again with limited warning if conditions worsen.

The closure of Highway 97, just before the Labour Day long weekend, led to major delays for commuters. It was initially set to reopen by the weekend of Sept. 16-17.

News of the partial reopening is likely to come as a relief to many residents of Summerland, with the mayor previously describing Highway 97 as the "backbone of our region."

The TransportationMinistry says in its statement that the reopening came after crews built a "large lock-block wall" to protect the highway from falling rocks.

"Crews continue work to build a 150-metre-long berm between the wall and the bottom of the slope," it said in the statement. "The berm is partially complete and has significantly slowed movement of the material at the site, allowing the furthest lane from the slope to reopen to single-lane-alternating travel."

There is no timeline for when the highway could reopen to traffic in both directions, according to the ministry.

The ministry had opened two forest service roads as alternative routes following the highway's closure, with its statement saying the detours would continue to be maintained in the event of another closure.

Some residents of the area found the detour too time-consuming. One of them,Craig Pingle, resorted to hiking, boating and paraglidingin order to get to work.

WATCH | Highway closure spurs Okanagan man's creative commutes:

Okanagan man sails, hikes, and paraglides his way to work following rockslide road closures

1 year ago

Duration 2:14

"Craig is coming to work on Monday by horse, said Okanagan Crush Pad co-owner Christine Colleta of Haywire Winery manager Craig Pingle, who has been finding unique ways to commute after recent rockslides closed Highway 97.