There was a rock slide on the Coalmont Road earlier this evening and passage is now closed in both directions. According to one motorist who wasn’t able to make it to Princeton the slide happened around a quarter after five.

The location of the slide is a few feet east of the yield sign by the defile. Although it appears that the road itself has not given way, the debris is apparently too big to clear this evening and in the interest of safety needs to be carefully looked at during daylight. Argo has been out there all evening.

The Drive BC Road Conditions site reports that the next update will be tomorrow, Friday, November 19, 2015 at 10:00 am.

At this point there is no knowing when the highway will be open again, but people planning to go to work in Princeton should at least make other plans for the morning. Although it would add almost an hour each way, an alternate route would be Highway 5A and Otter Valley Rd.

UPDATE: There is an Argo truck at the gate by Parrish and Coalmont Road to warn people not to go that way unless they’re local. They now say that it might be cleared today but more likely by tomorrow. Drive BC says they will have the next update tomorrow (Friday) at noon.

UPDATE 2: As of late Thursday afternoon the road is open again. However, they were still working on it so expect delays.