Dempster closed from kilometre 222 to 246

Travellers heading to Inuvik, Northwest Territories are being forced to delay their plans with the closure of 24 kilometres of the Dempster Highway.

Travellers heading to Inuvik, Northwest Territories are being forced to delay their plans with the closure of 24 kilometres of the Dempster Highway.

Highways and Public Works spokeswoman Doris Wurfbaum said this morning Kilometres 222 to 246, which is south of Eagle Plains and north of the Ogilvies, was closed Wednesday morning due to slides in seven different areas caused by extensive rain.

All available crews were working in the area today, with additional road equipment brought in from Dawson. Workers had started fixing the road at each end with crews meeting in the middle and additional staffers checking parts of the road every hour.

While drivers can’t get to Inuvik due to the closure, those going to the Tombstone Mountains or the nearby campground are not impacted as the slides are north of that area.

Wurfbaum said that while crews are hoping to re-open the road tomorrow morning, that will depend on the weather and as of noon today it was continuing to rain along the Dempster.