B.C. highway partially reopens after rockslide

Highway 3A connects the communities of Kaleden and Keremeos, southwest of Penticton. (Castanet)

A highway through the British Columbia Interior has partially reopened to traffic after workers cleared debris left by a rockslide earlier this week.

The provincial Transportation Ministry says Highway 3A reopened to single-lane alternating traffic at 2 p.m. Friday, three days after the slide blocked all traffic between the communities of Kaleden and Keremeos, southwest of Penticton.

Travellers are urged to expect delays and use caution around workers near the Yellow Lake slide area.

A statement from the province on Wednesday said a geotechnical assessment determined that blasting and rock removal were required before any cleanup of the roadway could begin.

“Crews and equipment will be ready to start cleaning up the site as soon as the area is deemed safe by geotechnical engineers,” the statement said.

According to the ministry, the slide occurred Tuesday morning within a “known rock-fall area” approximately 15 kilometres northeast of Keremeos.

Rockslide catchment ditches at the site helped reduce the amount of debris that made it onto the highway during the slide, the province added.

There is no timeline yet for the highway to fully reopen to traffic.

A landslide earlier this month near West Kelowna proved deadly after a vehicle was swept into Okanagan Lake, prompting a multi-day search for the driver whose body was located Saturday.