Bank ‘just gave way,’ closing Salt Spring road for weeks
Stewart Road on Salt Spring Island will be closed for six to eight weeks for repairs after heavy rains undermined its base.
Residents living nearby heard a “loud bang” about 1 a.m. on Jan. 4, said Chris Cowley, operations manager for Mainroad South Island Contracting LP.
The section needing repair runs about 10 metres, he said Saturday.
“There was some liquefaction of the bank due to the amount of water,” Cowley said. “The bank just gave way.” The resulting slide took out part of the road. Stewart Road is an older road and had a base of logs, which slid onto a neighbour’s property, Cowley said.
Geotechnical specialists from the B.C. Ministry of Transportation examined the site and determined “we need to dig down to bedrock and rebuild the road base up from bedrock,” he said.
“So we will be bringing in a lot of rock to rebuild up the bank and the road.”
Repaving will then be carried out, he said.