The Alaska Highway is expected to open up near Rancheria later today, government officials told a news conference held this morning in Whitehorse.

The Robert Campbell Highway, the Nahanni Range Road to the Cantung Mine, and the South Canol Road remain closed, with no exact estimation as to how long repairs will take.

It's expected the Robert Campbell linking Watson Lake and Ross River will be closed for another couple of days.

Work on the South Canol running from Johnson's Crossing to Ross River is not a priority, officials indicated today.

"All resources are currently focused on the main highways,” says a Yukon government bulletin.

Government officials from a variety of departments held this morning's briefing to explain the status of highways and the flood conditions at Upper Liard and Lower Post, B.C.

Hydrologist Ric Janowicz said above-average spring rains and an above-average winter snowpack – now ripe for the spring melt – have come together to create a perfect storm of high water conditions like he's never seen.

It's expected the washout near this side of Rancheria will be passable later today with a rough, one-lane road, explained Al Nixon, the assistant deputy minister of the Yukon's transportation division.

Nixon said when the highway is ready for traffic, vehicles will be allowed to begin travelling north from Watson Lake and south from Teslin, though it will be a controlled release.

Commercial trucks will be given priority, and it's expected the intervals between trucks will be about a minute, he said.

Nixon said regular traffic will also be released in intervals, in groups of 10 vehicles at a time.

Officials want to avoid a situation with there's one mad dash all at once, with some vehicles passing others and possibly creating an unsafe situation, he explained.

Nixon said the section of highway that was closed by a mudslide just south of Rancheria was cleared and reopened Friday night.

The section of highway closed by a slide between Haines Junction and Destruction Bay was also cleared and opened on Saturday, and traffic flow is back to near normal, he said.

Nixon said it's estimated there are about 40 commercial trucks waiting in Watson Lake to come north, and about 200 other vehicles.

Work is underway to secure Bailey bridges to establish a temporary two-lane bypass around the washed-out section at Canyon Creek, just up the highway from Rancheria, he said.

Nixon said the bypass will provide a more suitable detour than the rough road they're building now just to get traffic flowing.

It appears the massive washout was created upstream of the highway by a slide that blocked Canyon Creek, until the volume of water behind the slide was so large it exploded through all at once, he explained.

Nixon said highway officials weren't sure at first if the large culvert at Canyon Creek was even still there.

They've since confirmed it is, but the entire two meter-diameter pipe is plugged full of gravel and debris, he said.

Nixon said it's too difficult to estimate what it will cost to make all repairs, but it will surely be into the millions of dollars.

There's no telling right now, for instance, whether the four large culverts washed out on the Nahanni Range Road can be salvaged, he said.

Nixon said there are another five or six spots on the road to the Cantung Mine which are also flooded and possibly washed out.

Officials with the mine have indicated they have enough supplies to carry them through for about 10 days, he said.

Nixon said highway personnel are searching for a supply of temporary Bailey bridges. He doesn't see any problem as suppliers are actually calling territorial officials to see what they need.

Arrangements are also being made with Yukon Zinc's Wolverine Mine to make sure the mine can get supplies it needs, he said.

Nixon said there are a couple of areas on the Robert Campbell that are not washed out but are under water or soggy, making travel through them dicey.

The company has had to stop shipping its concentrate south – some six trucks a day – and the highway is not expected to open for a couple of days at least.