$2M from Yukon government to help Whitehorse rebuild after 2022 slide

WHITEHORSE — The Government of Yukon will provide funds to help the City of Whitehorse respond to a landslide in 2022 that cut a major road on the west side of the Yukon River.

Minister of Community Services Richard Mostyn says in a statement that the territory will provide $2 million to offset costs of the April 30 slide.

As much as 4,000 metres of dirt and muck cascaded down an escarpment above Robert Service Way and slid across the road into the river, cutting one of the two main routes into downtown Whitehorse for about six weeks.

The statement says tension cracks and slides also happened elsewhere along the escarpment as the ground continued to shift, and the overall stability of the escarpment continues to be assessed.

Officials in Whitehorse estimate the cost to the city, so far, amounts to $2.3 million.

Mostyn says in the statement that last year’s high snow pack in Yukon is considered one of the major causes of the slide.

Whitehorse Mayor Laura Cabott says the city appreciates efforts by the Government of Yukon to work with the federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program to recover some of the costs linked to flooding, high snow pack and resulting escarpment slide.

“As our climate continues to change, we need to look at how we can adapt, mitigate, and respond to these emergencies in the future and we look forward to continuing those discussions with our government partners,” Cabott says in the statement.

Response costs facing Whitehorse as a result of the escarpment slide range from fencing and barricades to ongoing ground surveys, engineering work and the construction of a bypass.