Work on the rockslide at 15 miles Haines highway is wrapping up. Open traffic is expected to resume in the coming days.
Traffic has been constrained on the Haines highway since rockslides destroyed a passing car and obstructed the road just before Christmas. Since then, crews have been working to ensure safe passage for motorists.Danielle Tessen is a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation.
Tessen: “Contractor scalers arrived on Saturday, and they’ve worked for about two and a half days, they’ve been focusing on removing any lose or obvious rocks that could come down, and they’ve been doing this from ropes, and they’ve got climbing gear…”
Tessen says the scalers are using mostly hand tools to loosen the rocks, and that they may also use compressors and airbags to pry the bigger ones loose.
She says this work is now over, and that normal traffic will resume soon.
Tessen: “It will go back to two lanes of traffic, no pilot car operations, open 24/7”
Tessen says the department will add signage to the road telling drivers to move through the area without stopping, and to watch out for falling rocks. She says the department will keep monitoring the slope, and crews will return after the winter to remove fallen rocks from the side of the highway.