The effects of rainstorms pelting southern British Columbia’s Interior have reached into the Prairies by effectively cutting off grain traffic to Vancouver.
Canadian National Railway said Tuesday that heavy rainfalls in the region have led to mudslides and washouts on its network.
Crews are inspecting affected areas and “carrying out repairs which are critical to the passage of railway traffic through southern B.C.,” the company said in a statement.
That repair work is “progressing safely,” CN said — but “northbound and eastbound traffic from Vancouver, as well as inbound to Vancouver from east/north of Kamloops, continue to be impacted.”
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Canadian Pacific Railway, in a separate statement, said it’s “experiencing a track outage” on its mainline between Yale and Agassiz, B.C., north of Hope, affecting rail service in the region.
In effect, “all rail service coming to and from the Port of Vancouver is halted because of flooding in the British Columbia Interior,” the Reuters news service quoted port spokesperson Matti Polychronis as saying Tuesday.
The provincial government on Monday said Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley would be closed in both directions effective 7 p.m. that evening.
A flood warning on the Sumas River led to the decision to close the highway between Highway 11 and No. 3 Road, the province said.
Highway 7, the main alternative to Highway 1 through B.C.’s Lower Mainland region, “also remains closed due to flooding and debris,” the province said Monday.
Highways 1 and 7 remained closed as of Tuesday morning, part of a long list of provincial highways closed due to flooding, washouts and mudslides.
The provincial transportation and infrastructure ministry said Tuesday the Malahat section of Highway 1 between West Shore Parkway and Tunnel Hill will be closed in both directions from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night until Monday next week.
“The full overnight closure is required to repair the highway at Tunnel Hill from damage caused by the recent weather conditions,” the province said.
During the daytime, that stretch of the highway will be open only to single-lane alternating traffic for 30-minute intervals; drivers should consider limiting travel for essential purposes only, the province added.
Flood risks and infrastructure damage have so far led to partial evacuations in B.C. communities including Abbotsford and Chilliwack and a full evacuation for the community of Merritt. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
