A portion of Robert Service Way is closed until further notice due to a landslide that has crossed the road.
The closure - from the softball diamonds to the traffic circle at Fourth Avenue - comes less than a year after an April 30, 2022 landslide shut a portion of the road for six weeks.
The most recent closure occurred early in the morning of April 8 following a landslide north of the sheet pile wall installed in 2022 following the first landslide.
In an April 8 statement, city officials said the first reports of the latest slide came in at 1:06 a.m.
“City crews are currently on site and there are no reports of injuries as a result,” it was noted. “There is currently no timeline on reopening, however crews are working to determine next steps and will begin clearing the area once it is safe to do so.”
In an update that followed, officials said portions of area trails are also closed as crews assess the sites and potential further risks.
The Rotary pedestrian bridge will remain open for access to Riverdale. Geotechnical experts are updating their assessments to inform next steps, the city said.
Road and trail users are asked to avoid the area and plan their trips accordingly.
Details were not yet available on how this slide compares to the 2022 slide in terms of how much debris came down and the damage that occurred.
The April 30, 2022 slide sent debris down the escarpment, across Robert Service Way and into the Yukon River, also taking out a light standard and rail tracks in its path. A large portion of the road as well as nearby trails remained closed for approximately six weeks as tension cracks were observed and slides occurred elsewhere along the escarpment. The sheet piling wall was put in place on Robert Service Way to prevent further slides there from reaching the road with the city continuing to monitor the escarpment.
Much of the downtown escarpment area was also fenced off for that period.
Contact Stephanie Waddell at stephanie.waddell@yukon-news.com
