No blasting closures planned on Highway 97 on long weekend

Travellers won’t have to worry about highway closures north of Summerland over the Easter long weekend.

The section of Highway 97 where slope stabilization work has been taking place, will remain open to traffic with no closures between Thursday, March 28 and Monday, April 1.

The Ministry of Transportation said short-term closures between Callan Road and Okanagan Lake Provincial Park have occurred throughout the winter to stabilize the slope at the site of a rockfall last August. The closures ensure safety while blasting and rock scaling removes unstable material from the slope above the highway.

More than 40,000 cubic metres of material have been removed from the slope, with up to 60,000 cubic metres expected to be removed by the time work is complete.

“Work will soon transition to a stabilization phase, which will involve installation of rock-bolting. This work will result in fewer blasts required through the spring. Closure times are likely to reduce, with fewer closures longer than 20 minutes,” the ministry said.

Highway 97 will continue to support two lanes of traffic, i.e. one lane in each direction, throughout the spring.