LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (June 15, 2005) — A 25 kilometre section of the I-87 in upstate New York will remain closed for at least four or five days as work crews scramble to repair the damage caused by a devastating mudslide.

Torrential rains caused the mudslide which left the main highway through the Adirondacks north of Albany covered with boulders and rushing water yesterday. Two of the highway’s four lanes — one northbound, one southbound — had collapsed under the onrush. Some drops are as deep as 50 feet where the entire roadway collapsed.

Interstate 87 is a main artery linking New York City and Montreal. It is not used heavily by passenger cars, but relied on by commercial trucks.

Officials said crews would work around-the-clock to repair and reopen the stretch of the Northway.

Jennifer Post, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, told the Associate Press that officials are still assessing the damage and unable to speculate exactly how long the repairs would take.

— from Associate Press