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highway close

At least 45,000 cubic metres of rock and gravel came down on Highway 99 in the Cheakamus Canyon in three separate slides between Saturday and Wednesday this week.

At least 45,000 cubic metres of rock and gravel came down on Highway 99 in the Cheakamus Canyon in three separate slides between Saturday and Wednesday this week. As of press time, officials were hoping to have the highway open by Friday, May 24, but weren’t promising anything. Heavy rains, which were blamed for the slides, continued Wednesday while crews blasted unstable areas above the highway. Some reports also suggested a minor earthquake last week may have contributed to the slide. Capilano Highways crews opened one lane of traffic Monday, after a major slide Sunday morning closed the road. Two lanes of traffic were open Tuesday but another slide hit early Wednesday morning, closing the highway indefinitely. The initial, minor slide, occurred Saturday night. BC Rail added additional train service between North Vancouver and Whistler on Monday. The additional train leaves Whistler at 1 p.m. and arrives in North Vancouver at 4:10 p.m. The regular Cariboo Prospector service departs Whistler at 6:10 p.m. and arrives in North Vancouver at 8:45 p.m. Airlines are also offering regularly scheduled flights between Whistler and Vancouver and Pemberton and Vancouver while the highway is closed.