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Whitehorse had its 3rd landslide of the year over the long weekend

The City of Whitehorse saw one more landslide near the escarpment along Robert Service Way over the long weekend. The slide marks the third so far this year.

Robert Service Way was closed over the weekend, but reopened Tuesday morning

The photo shows a hill, a road and the Yukon River.
Views of the escarpment along Robert Service Way. The City of Whitehorse says its berm was successful in containing much of the debris from the latest landslide. (City of Whitehorse )

The City of Whitehorse says another small landslide happened in Whitehorse over the long weekend.

Robert Service Way was closed for landslide prevention as ofFriday evening, officials said. The latest landslidethe third so far this yearhappened between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday.

"As early as May 16th, crews doing safety inspections began to notice movement in an area of concern," the city said in a statement. "According to data from the slope scanner, these movements intensified on May 21stresulting in a small landslide."

Thecity saidroughly 500 cubic metres of earthspilled over the cliff face of Robert Service Way a load that would fill roughly 36 standard dump trucks.

Oshea Jephson, a spokesperson for the city, saidcrews were proactive, which prevented any injuries or incident.

"We did close the roads to ensure that in the event something happened, we had the ability to respond," Jephson told CBCon Tuesday.

The road was reopened to traffic on Tuesday morning. The city, however, is keeping portions of the Millennium Trail and other trails in the area closed.

The photo shows a map with hot spots where potential landslides could happen.
This image shows areas of concern at the escarpment along Robert Service Way, in Whitehorse, on May 23, 2023. A city's spokesperson said the most recent slide happened in an area that was monitored. (City of Whitehorse )

"The city would not be reopening Robert Service Way if it didn't believe that the road was safe," Jephsonsaid.

"If our contractors indicate that it does become more risky then we would close the road. So people can rest assured that we are watching it every day. And we are keeping it open only as long as we believe that it's safe."

Robert Service Way was closed for about five weeks after a landslide from the adjacent clay cliffs covered part of it on April 8.The road re-opened to two-lane traffic from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. dailya little more than a week ago.

Jephson saidall slides have happened in the same area this year. The land's condition, he added, can change rapidly, forcingregular inspectionsto ensure the continued safety of road users.

The city said it's monitoring several areas that could potentially cause risk whilelooking to a 24/7 opening of Robert Service Way if conditions allow.