Water severs link to McBride

Highway 16 was closed in both directions for several hours Thursday, cutting off the only route between Prince George and McBride.

"Kenneth Creek has blown its banks," said RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson of the Prince George Regional Provincial Traffic Services Unit.

By 5:10 p.m. the high water was no longer washing across the pavement. The Ministry of Transportation's acting district manager for the region, Trent Folk, declared both lanes reopened at that time.

"As a matter of public safety we had to close things until we could get in there and assess the highway's condition under the water," Folk said. "The water has dropped, so it isn't on the highway at all anymore, and the damage was not such that we need to hold traffic flows back any more."

There were no other trouble spots of this magnitude anywhere else in the area, said Folk, and this incident was in a different spot than previous closure points in the same stretch of Highway 16 in recent weeks. Those others were due to saturated land, whereas this was the creek itself overflowing its banks.

"The rain has stopped. We are under the impression the peak flow has passed," he said. "Still, we will have staff at the site to ensure things don't change for the worse."

Motorists are encouraged to check the DriveBC website before travelling any distances in any direction during this period of high water and rainfall.