Key BC Highway Reopens to Truck Traffic After Severe Flood Damage

Construction workers stand in the northbound lanes of the Coquihalla Highway where a massive section of the separate southbound lanes was washed away by flooding last month near Othello northeast of Hope, B.C., Dec. 10, 2021. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER—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 B.C. government says in a release the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt reopened just after 8:30 a.m. on Monday to commercial traffic and intercity buses.

Crews have replaced about 20 stretches of the highway including bridges damaged during a storm in mid-November.

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.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says restrictions on Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton will be lifted on Tuesday at 8 a.m., allowing non-essential travel to resume on the route between the Lower Mainland and the Interior.