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UPDATED: Malahat reopens following rockfall

Section of Trans-Canada Highway was scheduled for intermittent closures today for rock scaling work
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A rockfall closed Finlayson Arm Road and West Shore Parkway on Friday (March 5) afternoon. (Twitter/BC Transportation)

The Malahat has reopened following a rockfall that closed the highway in both directions Friday afternoon.

For several hours a roughly three-kilometre stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway between Finlayson Arm Road and West Shore Parkway in Langford was at a standstill as crews worked to clear fallen rock. A geotechnical investigation is needed and an assessment is in progress.

Emcon Services Inc., the contractor tasked with provincial road maintenance on the southern Island, tweeted a rockfall in Goldstream Provincial Park had closed the roadway just after 1:30 p.m. At 2 p.m. they posted an update noting the closure had been extended to both directions. Shortly before 3 p.m., they said they were coordinating with emergency services to get a patient critically injured in a separate incident through the scene. By 3:30 p.m., the area was fully open, but drivers were told to expect delays as traffic got moving.

The Sooke School District also tweeted to notify people that buses would be delayed by up to 30 minutes, but students would be kept safe at school until buses could get to them.

Earlier in the day, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., that section of the highway had been closed for intermittent closures for rock scaling work. The Ministry of Transporation and Infrastructure tweeted a video of the scheduled work shortly before 11 a.m., noting traffic was moving again after the final clean up.

READ MORE: Rock work closes Highway 1 in Langford for spurts

That work comes after traffic in the area was halted in both directions on Feb. 28 for a rockslide. A rockfall in the park also caused delays late into the night on Jan. 12.

ALSO READ: Malahat closed an average of once per month, says Ministry of Transportation


 

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A rockfall closes Finlayson Arm Road and West Shore Parkway on Friday (March 5) afternoon. (Twitter/BC Transportation)