Residents of Old Fort will soon have their road access restored.
British Columbia’s Ministry of Transportation and Transit confirmed that work to build a 2-lane access road across the section of road destroyed by a landslide in late April is expected to being on Friday, May 15th.
The Ministry says a section of Old Fort Road, the only access in and out of the community, had been displaced by about 100 meters in the most recent slide, which affected an area about 400 wide. An area about 150 meters wide is still moving, but far less so than it had been previously.
View of the Old Fort Road from April 30th, 2026 // Courtesy: BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit
This week, work crews had been draining water from the slide area, while on Friday they’ll begin the process of fencing off the construction zone and will use heavy equipment to push upslope debris away from the path of the new road.
Construction of the new access road is expected to take about 2 weeks.
The Ministry has stressed that the work site is not safe for the general public, and have urged local residents not to attempt to travel through it until the new road has been complete. Provincial authorities have warned that non-compliance with traffic control and work zone restrictions could lead to a fine or even the involvement of police to ensure enforcement.
Scarp created by the landslide near it’s western flank as it meets the road // Courtesy: BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit
The landside on April 20th which prompted the evacuation order for the small town of about 150 residents south of Fort St. John was the third such landslide in same area since 2018, and it is in fact the same section of ground involved as the slides in 2018 and 2020.
