A mudslide has closed 264th Street in North Langley, shutting down the road between 72nd and 84th Avenues for an unknown duration.

The slide took place sometime in the early morning hours in the 7700 block of 264th, following several days of steady rain.

“About a hundred metres of road has been covered,” Veer said.

The mud is up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) thick in places, said Terry Veer, the Township’s manager of roads and drainage.

One house was damaged as the mud headed downhill, and the home has been evacuated, Veer said. No one was hurt.

As of Wednesday morning, geotechnical engineers were looking over the site to determine what caused the slide, and how safe it would be to clean it up.

The mud was very runny, and anything removed simply filled in again with more material, Veer said. Crews were also concerned about the stability of the whole site, and whether it was safe to simply shovel it away.

The slide apparently took out a small retaining wall on its way down.

Veer said the costs of the entire cleanup aren’t known yet, but will be in the thousands if not the tens of thousands.

The final tally will depend on how much work has to be done to shore up the steep banks.

The site of the slide is just below the newly-opened Pagoda Ridge golf course. According to a Pagoda Ridge staff member, the course itself was not damaged by the slide.

The steep and twisting section of the road hit by the slide is part of the escarpment above Glen Valley. It is one of the hilliest areas in Langley, where the land abruptly drops down to the flat flood plain of the valley.

The slide affected the morning commutes of numerous North Langley residents who head south from River Road or 88th Avenue, as 264th leads to one of the major freeway interchanges.

Along with the mudslide, Veer said Township crews were dealing with the usual issues that follow a heavy rain event, especially in the fall. There have been drains blocked by leaves in several places and large puddles are forming.

“We do have some flooded intersections and roadways,” said Veer.