Coquihalla Highway now reopened to commercial traffic

A major highway linking Metro Vancouver and southern British Columbia to the rest of the province has reopened about a month after severe flooding damaged the route in several areas.

The province has announced the Coquihalla Highway/Highway 5 is now open between Hope and Merritt to commercial vehicles only and with reduced speed limits in place.

NEW: #Coquihalla highway is now open to commercial vehicles and inner-city buses. Comes more than month after the highway connecting Hope and Merritt was shutdown following destructive flooding/mudslides. @CityNewsVAN https://t.co/24ETsMaRnh

— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) December 20, 2021

B.C.’s Minister of Transportation says road crews worked around the clock to get the Coquihalla back on track ahead of schedule and replaced about 20 stretches of the highway including bridges damaged during the storm in mid-November.

Related Video:

Coquihalla Highway wash out

Southbound lanes on the Coquihalla Highway have been washed into the river between Larson Hill and Juliet. (Credit: B.C. Transportation Ministry)

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Torrential rains and melting snow between Nov. 13 and 15 caused flooding and debris slides through the Fraser Valley and southern Interior.

Checkpoints are in place along the Coquihalla to ensure only essential trucks and buses are using the highway.

Highway 99 reopens to non-essential travel

Just in time for the holidays, another major highway rendered unusable because of the major rainstorm last month, is now open for recreational trips.

Last week, B.C. Minister of Transportation Rob Fleming said non-essential travel restrictions on Highway 99 and Highway 3 would lift after the Coquihalla reopened to commercial traffic.

Within 30 minutes of Monday’s Coquihalla update, Drive BC said Highway 99 from Pemberton to Lillooet reopened to non-essential travel but is restricted to vehicles under 14,500kg GVW.

#BCHwy99 is now open to non-essential traffic from #Pemberton to #Lillooet. Restricted to vehicles under 14,500kg GVW. https://t.co/No2DU34c7z

— DriveBC (@DriveBC) December 20, 2021

Non-essential travel between Hope and Princeton on Highway 3 is expected to reopen by Tuesday.