Highway 6 bypass blocked again
The Highway 6 Caledonia bypass remained closed Friday evening.
It was blocked late Thursday in solidarity with pipeline opponents in northern B.C., after reports surfaced that more than a dozen people had been arrested. Those arrests included land defence group 1492 Land Back Lane’s spokesperson Skyler Williams, according to a tweet Thursday.
“We demand his immediate release and all other land defenders arrested today,” read the tweet.
In an email to The Spectator, Haldimand OPP Const. Mary Gagliardi said the bypass remained closed in both directions between Greens Road, Haldimand Road 66 and Haldimand 4th Line.
Gagliardi said the highway would reopen once the blockade was no longer in place and the roadway was “deemed safe for vehicular traffic.” She added that OPP continue to monitor the blockade.
The proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline route passes through the traditional lands of several First Nations, including the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan.
Hours after word of Williams’ arrest, 1492 Land Back Lane tweeted Thursday evening that the bypass had been blocked.
“The Highway 6 bypass has been shutdown in solidarity with @Gidimten ...,” read the tweet.
The bypass was also blocked in late October after reports surfaced that a Gitxsan First Nation chief had been arrested.
More than a dozen people were reportedly arrested at the site of the northern B.C. blockade, according to a Twitter video posted by those at the Gidimt’en checkpoint.
Haldimand OPP said northbound traffic can detour using 4th Line, and southbound traffic can use Haldimand Road 66. Trucks have also been asked to take 4th Line due to weight restrictions on the Argyle Street Bridge.