By David F. Rooney
The Trans-Canada Highway was reopened late Monday afternoon after cleanup crews managed to clear a large mud slide that had cut the highway at Perry River on Saturday.
Hundreds of truckers and other travellers were stranded in Revelstoke over weekend as the heavy rain that drenched the region caused mudslides and washouts that cut the TCH and forced ferry delays of up to 10 hours at Shelter Bay.
According to information from Drive BC, the TCH was reopened Monday afternoon. And ferry sailings at Shelter Bay have returned to normal. Traffic on Highway 23S had been so dense that the highway was closed in both directions as Pacific Marine attempted to deal with an immense, six-kilometre-long backlog of vehicles that Drive BC estimated would take eight-to-ten hours to clear on Sunday. That wait time was reduced to two hours by late Monday morning and is now back to normal. (Go to the Current Video feature on the front page to see a video of the unbelievable lineup filmed by freelance writer Brennan Storr)
Meanwhile, in town, trucks were parked along the west side of Victoria Road from the CPR parking lot to Johnnie’s all day Sunday and much of Monday. They also filled the available parking spaces at Burger Junction and the parking lot across the Columbia River Bridge near Westside Road.
The Columbia itself is quite high as is the Illecillewaet b ut is in no danger of spilling over its banks, unlike what has happened at Swansea Point near Sicamous. There, residents were evacuated by boat and parts of Highway 97A are washed out.
Here are a few photos of our little urban parking lot:
