Coquihalla Highway reopening to commercial traffic and inter-city buses on Monday
CBC
The Coquihalla Highway (Highway 5) is set to reopen to commercial traffic and inter-city buses on Dec. 20, a month after it was significantly damaged by floods and mudslides.
Transportation Minister Rob Fleming made the announcement at a news conference on Wednesday.
He said the reopening was "one of the most remarkable engineering feats in recent memory in the province of British Columbia."
Fleming says the exact time of day the Coquihalla would be open to commercial traffic is yet to be determined, but it would be before the end of day Monday.
Permanent repairs to the stretch will take longer, Fleming said, and will occur as essential traffic flows through the corridor starting Dec. 20.
Some of the sections of the road will only have two lanes open, and electricity will not be operational through those stretches. More details are set to be provided before the reopening on Monday.
Officials said the route will take 45 minutes longer than usual to travel in ideal weather conditions due to the damage.
The arterial route was damaged in more than 20 places after mudslides in mid-November collapsed multiple bridges, and has been closed to all travel since Nov. 15.
There is no date set yet for when the highway will be open to everyone.
There will be checkpoints at Hope and Merritt to ensure non-essential traffic is kept off the highway on Dec. 20.
Highway 3, which served as the commercial route to the Interior after the Coquihalla closure, will be reopened to all traffic on Tuesday.
The stretch has been restricted to essential traffic since mid-November, as has Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet. That stretch will also be open to all traffic on Dec. 21.
While the highways are "safe," according to Fleming, the transportation minister urged people not to travel unless absolutely necessary.
"Holiday gatherings are something that people should really think carefully about," he said. "Stay local if you can."
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