A heavier than normal snowpack and harsh downpours have led to a higher than usual number of washouts and slides along Highway 16.

One of the worst locations this year has been in the Tete Jaune Cache area.

Trent Folk with the Ministry of Transportation says several washouts and resulting road closures have been a combination of factors.

"A couple of the events that we've had happen that have resulted in debris flows where some debris gets plugged up at the top and with the higher flow it ends up flushing out quite a bit of debris and impacting the highway down below," said Folk.

Folk says the Ministry is working with maintenance contractors to install some new equipment alongside the highway which will hopefully lead to fewer such washouts in the future.

He says every year such events can be expected, but we are certainly seeing one of the worst in recent memory. 

Most Viewed Stories

• Search underway for missing woman in Fort St. James
• Hit and Run Suspect Disappears with Victim
• Man with medical conditions missing
• 16-year-old boy believed to have drowned in Seeley Lake
• Hwy 97 re-opens south of Quesnel