Saturday morning 13th January 2018, the Col de la Forclaz alpine road pass has been closed due to a rockfall that threatens houses on the Swiss side. The Valais cantonal police said that around 3,500 cubic metres of rubble fell onto the road.
According to Le temps.ch, the incident occurred around 6 a.m. The rock fall with a volume estimated at 3500 cubic meters was triggered by forces due to freeze cycles and cut the road for about 50 meters.
No-one was injured, but several houses were evacuated and rocks fell perilously close to the village of Trient in canton Valais, making the water supply unsafe. As a precautionary measure, about ten people were evacuated by the local authorities.
The road of Col de la Forclaz will remain closed for several days
The road will remain closed for several days as the authorities clear away the debris. Only the Mont Blanc Express railway allows the connection between Martigny and France.
There are also fears of further rockfalls caused by ice expanding in fissures and loosening the rock.
According to Le Nouvelliste.ch, Vincent Pellissier, the Head of the Roads and Waterways Department added, "It will take time to clear everything, rocks that need to be destroyed before they can be transported. To make matters worse, snowfall has been announced for Tuesday and Wednesday and this may delay the work.
The Col de la Forclaz alpine road pass, is a popular tourist route linking the popular ski regions around Martigny in Switzerland and Chamonix in France.
Alternative routes
The president of the commune of Trient, Bertrand Savioz said that the inhabitants of Trient and Finhaut, who can no longer reach the plain of the Rhone by the road of La Forclaz, can reach Martigny with the regional train or by car through Chamonix.
