Updated Feb. 2:
DriveBC says Highway 101 is closed from Trout Lake Road to Leaning Tree Road – 2.9 km – until 5 p.m. Friday, with the next update to come at that time.
Original story:
There will be scheduled full closures of Highway 101 at Trout Lake on Feb.1 to address potential road flooding issues caused by beaver activity in the area. Local spokesperson for Capilano Highways Services, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s (MOTI) area road maintenance contractor, Tyler Lambert told Coast Reporter both lanes would be closed for periods, with traffic detoured onto Redrooffs Road. He said all work in the area should be completed by Feb. 3.
The highway will be fully closed from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Feb. 1.
Capilano received emergency approval to install a new overflow culvert “to keep lake levels lower than the highway," Lambert explained. He said that the sole existing outlet pipe that controls lake levels was blocked and compromised by the work of area rodents.
Throughout the current winter season, the lake’s level has risen and has been encroaching on vehicle pullout and parking areas.
In a related item, public access to views of road conditions on Highway 101 at Trout Lake via the DriveBC website have been further delayed as the camera installed was “defective." In a Jan. 30 email to Coast Reporter, a MOTI spokesperson advised that the unit requires a full replacement. They indicated that department staff will be doing that work “in the coming month." Other equipment at that site, which was put it during mid-2023, is functioning and providing weather and road condition data to Capilano.
