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UPDATE: North Klondike Highway still closed; 40 people transported by helicopter

Department of Highways and Public Works does not know when the road will reopen
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A series of landslides hit the North Klondike Highway near the Dempster Highway cutoff. (Submitted/Department of Highways and Public Works)

Multiple landslides have shut down the Yukon’s North Klondike Highway near Dawson City.

The territorial department of Highways and Public Works is citing the landslides and slope instability for the closures.

In a 9 a.m. update on Facebook, the department said the highway remains closed on Highway 2 south of the Dempster Highway cutoff, between roadway markers 666 to 674, and at Rock Creek just north of the Dempster Highway cutoff, between roadway markers 693 and 696.

Additional landslides occurred overnight in these areas and the slope remains unstable, according to the post.

Engineers are assessing the damage and creating a plan to clear the road.

It is unknown when the road will reopen.

The public is being asked to avoid travelling in the area. The highway is the main artery connecting Dawson City and Whitehorse.

In an email on Sept. 23, Cynthia Hunt said the event caused “significant stress” to travellers who were trapped between the two sections of road.

Hunt said people who were stuck had to be airlifted from the area and taken to the Dawson City airport in hopes of catching a ride to Dawson City.

“Those that went to town to work in the morning, like my family, were unable to return home without their help,” Hunt said.

“Dozens of people flew over the slide area, but were unable to drive to Dawson as their vehicles were on the wrong side of the slide. As we have no other way to get out of Dawson this time of year, truckers and travellers alike are faced with a very challenging delay.”

The department confirmed by email Sept. 23 that helicopters were used as an emergency measure to transport up to 40 people who were stuck between the road closures into the airport.

Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com



Dana Hatherly

About the Author: Dana Hatherly

I’m the legislative reporter for the Yukon News.
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