Traffic slowed to a crawl outside of Sechelt Friday as a cleanup crew cleared detritus that flowed onto Sunshine Coast Highway in the vicinity of Selma Park Road in the early morning.
“It’s not really a slide because that would indicate a bank failed down onto the highway. This is more debris flow from somewhere up the mountain,” said Tyler Lambert, road manager for Capilano Highway Services, which maintains roads on the Sunshine Coast.
Capilano Highways was alerted to the incident early Friday morning and a crew began cleanup at approximately 7 a.m., reducing the highway to a single lane of alternating traffic.
The cleanup crew, assisted by a backhoe, sweeper truck and dump truck, were expected to complete the work by 1 p.m.
They will return next week to fix the drainage infrastructure, which was filled in from the overnight mud flood.
“It’s just too difficult to close a lane on the Friday before a long weekend, especially there,” said Lambert. “We’re trying to get it clean and get out of everybody’s way and next week finish up the cleanup.”
The Ministry of Transportation is investigating the cause of the debris flow. “We’ve never had one there before, ever,” said Lambert, who suspects an isolated storm cell hovering over Selma Park may have contributed.
This was the only incident Capilano Highway Services crews were dispatched to following the overnight rainfall. Approximately 15 millimetres of rain fell between June 27 and 28.
