Highway 19 reopened after sinkhole, but permanent repairs will take months, minister says

B.C.'s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure says it will likely be months before a sinkhole north of Nanaimo is fully repaired.
Minister Rob Fleming told reporters during a news conference Saturday that he hoped Highway 19 would be able to reopen that evening, but noted that repair work would likely continue for months even after the road is opened.
"Further closures will be needed to get significant work periods to remediate and fix that," Fleming said. "We'll communicate with the public in advance of any work that's going to be done."
Highway 19 has been closed in both directions near Lantzville, B.C. since Friday. Southbound lanes had been opened after the sinkhole was discovered on Thursday, but they were closed again Friday afternoon to accommodate repair work.
As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the road had reopened, according to DriveBC.
A detour is in place through Superior Road and Lantzville Road, but Fleming advised everyone to avoid the affected portion of Highway 19 if they can.
"Delays on this detour can be quite long," the minister said.
On Friday evening, the Malahat Highway reopened to two-way traffic for the first time since the devastating storm that struck B.C. Sunday and Monday.
Repairs on that section of Highway 1 are still ongoing, and are also expected to take months, according to Fleming.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ukraine's president accuses Russia of waging 'total war'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of waging "total war," seeking to inflict as much death and destruction as possible as in three months of conflict, as fighting raged Tuesday in the eastern Donbas region.

EXCLUSIVE | Supreme Court Justice Mahmud Jamal on his journey to Canada’s highest court
Justice Mahmud Jamal sat down with CTV National News' Omar Sachedina for an exclusive interview ahead of the one-year anniversary of his appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada. Jamal is the first person of colour to sit on the highest court in the country, bringing it closer to reflecting the diversity of Canada.
Death toll from Saturday's storm hits 10 across Ontario and Quebec
As the death toll related to the powerful storm that swept Ontario and Quebec on Saturday reached 10 on Monday, some of the hardest-hit communities were still working to take stock of the damage.
Trudeau faces chants, pounding drums as he walks through crowd at Kamloops memorial
The prime minister made comments following a memorial gathering in Kamloops to mark one year since the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation announced the remains of up to 215 children were detected at a former school site.
Conservative party ends its investigation into complaint about a racist email
The Conservative Party of Canada says its ended its investigation into a racist email sent to leadership contender Patrick Brown's campaign team after the party member purportedly behind it resigned their membership.
Walk out at trade meeting when Russia spoke 'not one-off,' says trade minister
The United States and four other nations that walked out of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group meeting in Bangkok over the weekend underlined their support Monday for host nation Thailand, saying their protest was aimed solely at Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.
Canadian study finds link between air pollution and severity of COVID-19 infection
An extensive study of thousands of COVID-19 patients in Ontario hospitals found links between the severity of their infections and the levels of common air pollutants they experience.
After 3 months of war, life in Russia has profoundly changed
Three months after the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, many ordinary Russians are reeling from those blows to their livelihoods and emotions. Moscow's vast shopping malls have turned into eerie expanses of shuttered storefronts once occupied by Western retailers.
China's bet on homegrown mRNA vaccines holds back nation
China is trying to navigate its biggest coronavirus outbreak without a tool it could have adopted many months ago, the kind of vaccines that have proven to offer the best protection against the worst outcomes from COVID-19.