The City of Whitehorse will begin work today to remove the potential of more landslides along Robert Service Way, city engineer Taylor Eshpeter said Monday.

Eshpeter and Mayor Laura Cabott hosted a late-morning media briefing to update the situation with the slide activity and the steps to be taken to eliminate risky areas.

For the project, Cabott said, the city has entered into a contract with P.S. Sidhu Trucking valued at up to $175,000.

The city, she said, is under pressure from the public and Emergency Services to get the road open.

To manage traffic flow, the city has adjusted the timing of traffic lights on the alternate routes in the Two Mile Hill area.

A mudslide on April 8 closed Robert Service Way for the second time in less than a year.

Eshpeter explained the intent is to have an excavator work from the top of the escarpment, above the areas where there is still a risk of slide activity.

The excavator will knock down the materials in the area of the clay cliffs that remains a high risk of slides where there is evidence of tension cracks, he said.

The material that comes down will be hauled away by dump truck.

Eshpeter said the work is expected to take up to two weeks.

Once it’s completed, officials will determine if the road can be re-opened. If it can be, it’s likely to be subject to traffic control, such as single-lane vehicles guided by pilot cars.

Eshpeter said the excavator will build a terrace-like access so it can descend down to more than eight metres on the face of the slope to the targeted area.

A health and safety work plan has been developed for the project, he noted.

The work will be monitored closely by city staff and geotechnical engineers. Any sign of danger and it will be halted, he emphasized.

Cabott renewed her request to the public to keep out of the fenced-off areas.

Entering the area could expose individuals to danger and subsequently expose emergency response personnel should they be called to assist somebody, Cabott pointed out.

She said in Takhini, there has been no measurable movement of the slope.

Along the escarpment downtown and in the areas of Drury Street, new monitoring equipment has been installed.

Cabott said while they are seeing seepage, there is nothing of concern in that area.

Along Robert Service Way, staff continue to see active water flows and seepage, she said.

She said the situation remains dynamic but the city continues to monitor the escarpment and has increased inspections in higher-risk areas.

The city is now entering a new phase of escarpment activity, she said.

The mayor said they have seen two drier slides this year and, as temperatures finally warm, they expect the number of slides will increase.

Rising temperatures will cause melt, which will saturate the ground and increase the already-high ground water levels, she said.

As opposed to this year’s dry slides, they are now anticipating mudslides similar to those last year, she said.

“That is why we are urging residents again to avoid the slide areas,” she said.

“By putting yourself at risk in the slide area, any potential rescue also puts our first responders at risk.”

If residents don’t adhere to the closures, Cabott said, the city will take enforcement action.

It will be looking to the federal government’s disaster mitigation adaptation fund for financial assistance, she pointed out.

The work to knock down the risky areas is a site-specific solution and is not a fix for the entire escarpment, she said, suggesting a longer-term solution will need to be looked at and developed.

The April 30, 2022 Robert Service Way slide closed the roadway for seven weeks.