B.C.'s road maintenance service advises that while many motorists managed to flee a seven-hour wait Tuesday as the Trans-Canada Highway shut near Revelstoke, drivers should be prepared for delays even in summer.
According to Revelstoke RCMP, emergency services responded around 11 a.m. Aug. 26 to a motor vehicle collision along Highway 1, between Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks.
RCMP said via release that a westbound semi-trailer struck part of the MacDonald Snowshed, "and was pushed into the oncoming lane, colliding with an oncoming SUV" inside the snow shed. Emcon Services shared a photo showing the torn-open trailer blocking the western entrance to the snow shed, with its cargo spilled out.
The occupants of both vehicles sustained minor injuries, and impairment has been ruled out as a factor, RCMP added.
Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact Revelstoke RCMP at 250-837-5255.
Kody Moncrief, Emcon's Selkirk Division operations manager, told Black Press Media by email that though he couldn't speculate on the incident's cause, "weather was clear, bright and warm," and the snow shed currently sits in a reduced-speed zone for the Jumping Creek highway improvement project.
Various motorists took to social media to post about the delays they got caught in as Highway 1 around the snow shed closed for seven hours both ways, until around 6 p.m. Tuesday. Anne-Frederick Laurence of Quebec told Black Press Media her daughter, the daughter's boyfriend and their two cats were stuck the entire time while moving with a U Haul from Calgary to Vancouver, and in a dead zone that prevented them from calling anyone.
Several hours into the closure, Emcon posted on Facebook that motorists caught on either side of the snow shed should consider turning back around to enjoy the "hospitality" of Revelstoke and Golden, rather than wait hours more.
Laurence said her daughter was physically unable to turn her vehicle around, but "it is possible for motorists to turn around when stopped in unexpected lineups and it was observed that many people were heading back in the direction they came after being stopped," Moncrief responded. "However, this may be difficult depending on the location and space wherever they are stopped to do this safely."
Moreover, Moncrief emphasized that motorists should come equipped with emergency supplies for unusual longer delays of more than just an hour or so, even in ideal weather.
"Drivers, especially when travelling mountain passes, need to be prepared for unexpected delays and emergencies, whether it is summer or winter," he said. "Unexpected delays are bound to happen and drivers need to be prepared."
About 40 kilometres east of Revelstoke, a 2.6-kilometre stretch of Highway 1 between Jumping Creek and MacDonald Snowshed is undergoing improvements Aug. 24 to Sept. 13. Various days of full or one-lane closures are planned, with up to two-hour delays.
The weekly work schedule is available at .
