South Klondike Highway reopened to single-lane traffic after rockslide
The South Klondike Highway between Carcross, Yukon and Fraser, B.C. re-opened on Friday morning to single-lane piloted traffic.
A rockslide closed that stretch of highway on Tuesday. Officials say the debris blocking both highway lines stretched nearly 150 metres wide and 20 metres high and crews are still working to clear the remainder of the road.
"So the rocks came down a canyon and there are many, many rocks, a lot of rubble," Carly Bohman, a communications officer with Yukon Highways and Public Works said on Thursday. "It's a significant job of cleaning up the site for sure."
Yukoners stranded in Skagway
The massive slide trapped travellers on both sides of the Canada-Alaska border.
Whitehorse resident Sia Mettà was visiting Skagway with his partner and mother when the slide happened. They were on their way home on Tuesday night when a gate blocking the highway stopped them in their tracks.
Mettà and his family turned around to look for last-minute accommodations in Skagway.
"[I] started calling hotels and they were all full basically," Mettà said. "The last hotel that we tried … they ended up having two rooms available by the time we got there. So we did end up getting a room last minute, but it was definitely a close call."
Mettà booked a ferry to Haines the next day and arrived back in Whitehorse late Wednesday night. He said he and his partner were fortunate that they had booked an extra day off. However, he was frustrated about the added expenses the closure caused.
"King size bed for the three of us, you know, that's an extra $300, plus an extra $166 to get back on the ferry, plus gas, plus food," Mettà said. "This is just an extra, you know, $700 being tacked on to our trip that we weren't expecting."
Despite the stress the closure caused him, Mettà said he and his partner feel lucky they weren't caught in the slide.
Cruise passengers took late night detour
On the Canadian side of the border, 131 cruise ship passengers were blocked from returning to their boats in Skagway.
The rockslide stopped both the White Pass and Yukon Route train and the buses that were sent to retrieve them.
Dave McGlothlin, head of transport for Holland America in the Alaska region, says passengers waited in Carcross for an alternative plan.
"We were able to get food, water, and obviously fuel the vehicles," said McGlothlin. "We actually had some infants. So we had to get baby formula on board the coaches."
Late Tuesday night, passengers were bussed to Haines, where they met one of Holland America's ships, which set off for Glacier Bay around 4 a.m.
Reaction from passengers was mainly positive, despite their late night detour.
"So generally guests were happy with how we handled it," McGlothlin said. "It's never perfect, but, considering all the different options and arriving at 4 a.m. into Haines, I think it went as best as it could."
