B.C.’s Highway 3 unrecognizable amid storm damage, checkpoints, crashes

One driver, who recently travelled along Highway 3 to make deliveries, says anyone thinking of trying to defy rules by taking a road trip to or through B.C.’s Interior this holiday season should think again.

Flooding and mudslides have caused catastrophic damage to the Coquihalla, and Highway 1 remains closed through the Fraser Canyon. Highway 3 is now the main link between Metro Vancouver and the rest of Canada, and is open to essential travel only. While Highway 99 is also open for essential travel, it is a more circuitous route through the Sea to Sky.

Chris Mathieson runs a company in Keremeos, and needed to make deliveries to the coast. He says the highway between Hope and Princeton was unrecognizable.

“I was shocked at the condition of Highway 3, our one open highway. There are places where the lane is completely missing, there’s a steady stream of accidents happening right now with all the commercial traffic happening on that road. And just generally, it’s a mess,” he says.

“On top of that, you have all the flaggers, you’ve got what feels like half of the traffic cones in British Columbia, you’ve got the checkpoints as well where they’re checking to make sure you’re travelling legitimately. It’s a really intense, very different experience.”

And Mathieson says enforcement of the travel restrictions is in full effect. He experienced this firsthand since he was driving a car and not a tractor-trailer.

“They better understand that they’re going to hit a checkpoint where they’re going to be given the third degree,” he says. “You do need to have some kind of proof and legitimate reason to be travelling. Absolutely every vehicle that was not a big semi was being diverted to the side of the road and being checked.”

RELATED: B.C. lifts travel restrictions on Hwy 7, moves to flood recovery mode

Transportation Minister Rob Fleming made it clear Monday that there is no timeline for when Highway 3 will be open to anyone but commercial vehicles.

“We’re still seeing too many accidents and we need that situation to improve. We work very closely with the trucking industry to try and make this route as safe and efficient as possible. We issue detailed maps for drivers who may be unfamiliar with the road, we have new highway signage … there’s an enhanced winter road maintenance regime in place now and we have greater police presence along the highway,” he explained.

Talks are underway to see if more flights to the Interior and beyond can be added.

“There’s lots of regular connections to places like Calgary. The airline industry is obviously interested in seeing what kind of additional regional and holiday service they can provide. So we’ll keep updating on what the industry is doing in terms of adding flights that may be able to help people with their holiday plans,” he added.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the province is also keeping an eye on prices, and trying to do what it can to prevent people who can’t make the drive from paying “exorbitant” fares.

The Trans Mountain pipeline reopened on Sunday, but Farnworth says the province can’t say whether gas rationing measures will be eased before the scheduled end of the order.