Progress being made repairing highways damaged by flooding events

The B.C. Government says progress is being made repairing and reopening highways affected by storms and flooding.

Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley to Hope reopened for use last week, and so far the flow of traffic has been steady.

“This means that we’ll soon be able to lift the essential travel designation for Highway 7,” said Transportation Minister Rob Fleming.

“We have commercial vehicles using Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley to eventually access the Interior, so Highway 7 will be open to all general traffic with no restrictions later [Monday] afternoon, the exact time will be relayed through an information bulletin and other means.”

Work along the Coquihalla is ongoing, with over crews working around the clock to address the 20 sites where the highway was damaged or washed away during the storms.

“We remain optimistic that enough temporary repairs can be completed to allow traffic on the corridor by late January,” said Fleming.

“There is one important caveat with this and the time line, and that is, of course, the weather. As long as we see typical seasonal conditions, the end of January time line is achievable.”

The minister noted that over 100 pieces of equipment are being operated by crews along the Coquihalla, and though they are working in winter conditions, they are making progress.

Meantime, Fleming stated that Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton continues to perform fairly well as it acts as the lone corridor for connecting commercial vehicles from Metro-Vancouver to the rest of B.C., however there have been accidents reported on the road, and he encourages people to be safe.

“We’ve worked very closely with the trucking industry to make this route as safe and efficient as possible; we issued detailed maps for drivers who may be unfamiliar with the road; we have new highway signage warning of steep and winding conditions; there is an enhanced winter road maintenance regime in place now; and we have a greater police presence along the highway.”

He added that drivers should be prepared to slow down, be patient, and drive to conditions along that route.

Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet reopened Saturday for passenger vehicles only, as the road is considered unsafe for any vehicle larger than a box-truck.

Fleming said there’s no clear time line for when the restrictions prohibiting large commercial trucks on Highway 99 or those banning non-essential travel on Highway 3 will be lifted at this time. He said it’s crucial to the supply chain to keep the essential travel designation on Highway 3, adding that extra RCMP have been dispatched to cover the route, and possibly issue fines for anyone travelling along the corridor for non-essential purposes.

Elsewhere in the province, the ministries of Transportation and Forestry are working together to create temporary access from Merritt to Spences Bridge on forest service roads as Highway 8 was largely destroyed in the first storm, and there’s no estimated time to reopen that stretch of highway.

Progress is also being made to create temporary access to Kernew Bridge west of Merritt so B.C. Hydro can restore power to the area; Highway 11 north of Abbotsford has reopened, creating a clear corridor to the U.S. border; and work is underway at several sites on Highway 1 in the Fraser Canyon to establish temporary access by mid-January.

Fleming added that the supply chain continues to face challenges, though it has been improving and is continuing to trend in the right direction.

“CP and CN are running trains; TransMountain is resuming operations; and the spirit of cooperation of rolling up our sleeves and pulling together has not wavered over these past three weeks. Every day gets us closer to where we need to be.”