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UPDATE: Early morning rockslide cuts off access to Village of Queen Charlotte

Oceanview Drive now open to single-lane alternating traffic
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Crews remove debris from Oceanview Dr (Hwy 16) following an early morning rockslide in the Village of Queen Charlotte Oct. 6. (Rhonda Lee McIsaac photo)

The B.C. Ministry of Transporation expects Oceanview Drive to be cleared of debris and opened to traffic in both directions later this afternoon.

A small landslide in the Village of Queen Charlotte shut down the road in both directions for about five hours Tuesday (Oct. 6) morning.

The slide occurred between 3rd Avenue and Funk Road likely sometime between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. There are no reports of injuries or property damage.

One lane was opened to alternating traffic around noon.

READ MORE: Weekend rain on Haida Gwaii exceeds threshold for landslides

Village of Queen Charlotte acting CAO Mary Kellie dispelled rumours that rock blasting will be required.

“The misinformation we hear was the highway would be closed again so they could blast, but that’s not true. We specifically asked O’Brien [Road and Bridge Maintenance] if that’s true and they said no, that’s false information.”

She added Tuesday’s slide occurred in the same area as a previous slide, and has again highlighted the need for a secondary road north of the village that links to Skidegate and the BC Ferries terminal.

During the five-hour road closure yesterday, the village ran two shuttle boats between the helicopter pad and the village dock, primarily for hospital staff and BC Ferries passengers.

Before a lane could be safely cleared, the ministry of transportation conducted remote assessments with he help of the ministry of forests flying a drone over the slide area and feeding back data for a geotechnical survey.

READ MORE: Weekend rain on Haida Gwaii exceeds threshold for landslides