Highway 99 closing between Pemberton and Lillooet Tuesday afternoon

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Highway 99 in B.C. will be closed once again between Pemberton and Lillooet due to weather concerns.

Highways 3 and 7 will be the only options to get in and out of the Metro Vancouver region, as Highway 1 remains closed in two locations — between Chilliwack and Abbotsford and east of Chilliwack between Popkum and Hope.

Transportation Minister Fleming once again advising people that the province will proactively close certain highways if conditions warrant. Urging people not to travel on highways unless absolutely essential. #bcpoli #bcstorm #bcfloods

— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) November 30, 2021

B.C. Transportation Minister is warning drivers that available routes are not up to the same condition as they were before the first storm hit southern B.C. two weeks ago.

“Some commercial truck drivers may not be familiar with these routes and we were asking everyone to please slow down, please be patient and accept that it will take longer and drive according to current conditions,” the minister reminded drivers on Tuesday.

⚠️Status of #BCStorm impacted #BCHwys

✅ #BCHwy3, #HopeBC to #PrincetonBC

✅ #BCHwy1, Hope to #BostonBar

⛔️ #BCHwy1 #Abbotsford to #Chilliwack

⛔️ #BCHwy1 #Popkum to Hope

???? #BCHwy99, #LillooetBC to #PembertonBC, CLOSED AT 4PM

✅ #BCHwy7

❗️Travel Advisories in effect❗️

— DriveBC (@DriveBC) November 30, 2021

With the brunt of the next weather system moving in, Fleming says the province will also be preparing for the forecasted rain to impact Highway 20 in the Bella Coola Valley. A travel advisory is in place to warn motorists of conditions on that route.

“If it’s not necessary for you to be driving in the Bella Coola area … please stay off the roads,” Fleming urged.

And avalanche teams have headed to Highway 20 just in case they are needed — after the slides we’ve seen recently.

If needed, Fleming says the province will preemptively close more highways.

“With the ground already extremely saturated and heavy rains expected, proactive closures may be needed to ensure the safety of the travelling public,” he said. “We don’t take these decisions lightly but the current conditions are not typical and we need to keep everyone’s safety at the forefront. We’ll certainly provide as much notice as possible if this is required.”

On Monday, the province reopened Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton, as well as Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet to essential travel only “after they were cleaned up and confirmed to be safe for travel.”

Read More: B.C. reopens Highways 3 and 99 to essential travel after weekend storm

Fleming says since reopening traffic for these pair of highways, traffic “has generally flowed well.”

The following essential vehicles are exempt from the other travel restrictions:

• commercially transporting goods
• transporting essential goods and supplies, specifically:
  • food, water and other beverages
  • fuel and gasoline
  • health-care goods, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies
  • personal hygiene, sanitation and cleaning goods.
• transporting livestock, agricultural or seafood products and supplies
• livestock producers returning to a farm to provide care for animals
• responding to emergencies, including search and rescue operations
• evacuations for medical reasons and urgent medical treatment
• highway repair and maintenance
• transporting essential personnel
• returning to a person’s own principal residence
• exercising an Aboriginal or treaty right as recognized and affirmed by Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

– With files from Denise Wong