The City of Whitehorse will receive more than $45 million through a federal government program to support a permanent solution to landslides on Robert Service Way.
A May 6 announcement confirmed that the city was successful in its application to the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, a federal program that aims to assist the construction, modification or reinforcement of infrastructure so it can withstand natural disasters.
Whitehorse applied for funding following landslides that led to periodic closures of the main access road to the southern part of Whitehorse’s downtown in the springs of 2022 and 2023. There has not been a closure so far in 2024, but the city is observing the escarpment above the roadway with a radar scanner and has also shifted the traffic pattern and erected barricades.
“To address the reoccurrence of landslides and improve the community’s resilience to the impacts of climate change, Robert Service Way and the Millennium Trail will also be moved further from the base of the Whitehorse Escarpment. Other components of this project include regrading the slope, supporting revegetation, and expanding the debris barrier and implementing anti-erosion measures such as removing rocks and dirt,” the announcement that the funding was successful reads.
“Making adaptation investments now will have major economy-wide benefits later. Every dollar of that is invested to adapt and prepare for climate-related landslides along the Whitehorse Escarpment will see more than a doubling in financial benefits.”
Harjit S. Sajjan, the federal government’s emergency preparedness minister, said the stabilization project is a vital investment in protecting infrastructure from the effects of climate change.
Yukon MP Brendan Hanley also spoke to the importance of protecting the escarpment and the roadway below.
Mayor Laura Cabott noted this funding means the city can go ahead with its plan to address the landslides that have affected the south access route in recent years.
With design, regulatory approval and construction ahead for the city, Cabott said the escarpment work could take about six years to complete.
The total federal government investment is $45,882,633. Cabott noted that this amount is set to cover 75 per cent of the total project cost. She said the city will be considering how to pay for the remaining 25 per cent in discussion with the Yukon government.
Whitehorse representatives have said in earlier interviews with the News that construction of a permanent landslide solution could begin in 2026 if the funding was received.
The city has budgeted $3.7 million for design and inspection work on the project between this year and 2027. Another $57.45 million is budgeted in 2026 and 2027 for construction. The solution to the escarpment instability is called “one of the the largest projects the city has ever undertaken,” in city budget documents.
Prior to a permanent solution, the mitigation Whitehorse crews have put in place have proved capable of containing “small” landslides, including one on May 4. The slide was contained by a recently installed lock-block wall at the base of the escarpment. It did not lead to road closure.
The mayor said the city has built on its experiences each year since the first in this series of landslides in 2022. The results have been barriers, some permanent and some temporary, set up at the base of the escarpment, as well as monitoring efforts like the slope scanner. These allow the roadway and parallel trail to be kept open as much as possible through the spring landslide risk.
Cabott added that the plan is to restore the traffic pattern on Robert Service Way to normal once the risk created by the spring freshet has passed.
“We’ve got a month or so to continue to keep an eye on that road.”
— With files from Dana Hatherly
Contact Jim Elliot at jim-elliot@yukon-news.com