Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
UPDATE: Parks Canada has now closed the highway from Athabasca Falls to Saskatchewan River Crossing due to evaluated avalanche risk.
The highway is not expected to reopen until the evening of Friday, December 24, 2021 at the earliest to allow avalanche control work to take place tomorrow.
The Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) could be closed for avalanche control as early as Thursday from Athabasca Falls to Saskatchewan River Crossing.
If this occurs, the closure would likely begin in the late afternoon and will ultimately depend on the weather on Wednesday night.
The day-use area at Athabasca Falls would remain accessible.
Parks Canada says the closure would permit crews to quickly implement avalanche control actions on Friday morning.
Intermittent closures may still be required afterwards, and motorists should expect delays of up two hours starting at 10 a.m. on Friday.
The forecast calls for significant snowfall, accompanied by blowing and drifting snow and strong winds, along the highway south of Jasper on Wednesday and Thursday.
As much as 25 centimetres of snow is possible.
Parks Canada is reminding motorists that the Icefield Parkway is unsafe to travel on whenever the gates are closed and the road is shown as closed on 511.Alberta.ca.
“Bypassing a closed gate puts you and anyone who follows you at risk, places strain on our visitor safety staff, and delays avalanche control work and the length of time it takes to reopen the road,” Parks Canada stated in an information bulletin.
For more information as the storm progresses, go to 511.Alberta.ca and check out Jasper National Park's Facebook and Twitter feeds.
