Fraser Valley slides clog Trans-Canada

VANCOUVER — A series of mudslides that rolled over Highway 1 in British Columbia’s eastern Fraser Valley won’t be completely cleared until Saturday.

The muck and debris is creating delays for both drivers and rail traffic, the Transportation Ministry said.

Fraser Valley Regional District spokeswoman Jennifer Kinneman said the slides came down early Thursday in several locations on the Trans-Canada, about 120 kilometres east of Vancouver.

“It’s a fairly long stretch of the highway and I understand there were five separate points where there was a mudslide on that road,” she said.

Kinneman said the nearby Popkum Fire Department responded to the first calls for help because some drivers and passengers in vehicles were stranded by debris or power lines that had come down. RCMP said no injuries reported.

The Transportation Ministry said in a statement late Thursday that geotechnical engineers have completed their review of the area and crews with heavy equipment were beginning to clear away large amounts of debris covering the highway in both directions.

While the ministry estimates the westbound lanes will be clear by about noon today, the statement says the eastbound portion of the highway may not be open until Saturday afternoon.

The slides also affected Canadian National Railway traffic that runs beside the highway. Trains are moving, but there have been delays.