Highway 99 near Lillooet may reopen later this week

LILLOOET, B.C. — BC Ministry of Transportation officials say they think they have a temporary solution that may have Highway 99 north of Lillooet partly open by later this week.

The route has been closed since last week, when officials noticed the historic instability at 10 Mile Slide had become worse, causing the foundation beneath the mountain road to crumble.

Regional Director Mike Lorimer says crews are working this week to move the road away from the cliff edge.

“If you can picture the road cut into the side of the mountain, we are going to move the road a little further into the mountain, carve out some of the materials so that we can create a lane that is on more stable ground. We are going to see how the slide responds to that, whether that changes things, if it makes the movement increase again or not. We are optimistic that we are going to have a positive outcome,” explained Lorimer.