CALGARY -- A section of Highway 93 is closed and will remain closed through Thursday afternoon to accommodate planned avalanche control work. According to 511 Alberta, the highway was closed to traffic between Athabasca Falls and Saskatchewan River Crossing as of noon Tuesday. The reopening of the highway is tentatively scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday. Once the highway reopens, snow tires will remain mandatory along the Icefields Parkway until April 1 and commercial vehicles will continue to require permits for travel between Lake Louise and Jasper. A section of the highway was closed for nearly six hours on Sunday as the result of an unplanned avalanche.