Instability closes Lillooet-area highway, forcing lengthy detour
LILLOOET, B.C. — The BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says a stretch of Highway 99 north of Lillooet will remain closed for the forseeable future.
Regional Director Mike Lorimer says the 10 Mile Slide area 15 kilometres north of the community is historically unstable, but right now, engineers have noted more movement than usual.
“It’s not actually that debris has come down onto the road. If you can picture the whole mountainside, the whole mountainside is moving, and what happens usually is the earth the road is built on is moving out from underneath. So you are seeing a slippage away from the road,” said Loirmer.
Lorimer says ministry officials are predicting the route will need to be closed at least through the weekend.