Crews continue to be ahead of schedule when it comes to repairing the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt.

That is according to B.C. Transportation Minister, Rob Fleming, who says crews have “defied the odds” over the past few weeks.

Speaking Monday morning, he said the highway could be open sooner than the early January date he announced just last Thursday.

“Because the repairs are temporary in nature, we initially targeted that to be open by the end of January,” Fleming said. “Last week, we moved that target up a couple of weeks to early January and now thanks to the determination of crews who are going 24/7 at it in terms of the repair work, we expect to be able to open up even earlier than that date.”

Fleming though cautions that these timelines are all contingent on the weather.

“The Coquihalla is alive with construction activity every waking hour. We have that to thank about 300 people who are now working with about 200 pieces of heavy equipment,” he added.

“The one variable that is at play of course and that we can’t control is the weather. There was two feet of snow over the weekend on the Coquihalla but I have to say the workers again did not miss a beat. We have to be mindful that weather events could still hamper work especially when start paving.”

Fleming says a full briefing on the state of the Coquihalla – including the scope of the repairs and that reopening timeline – will be coming this Wednesday.

“The people involved in repairing the Coquihalla take this very personally,” Fleming added.

“It is a point of pride to be part of this important project. This is from engineers to suppliers to construction firms to working and their trade unions. All of them understand how important this corridor is to B.C., to our economy, and to our way of life.”

Highway 3 – the only route connecting the Lower Mainland and the Southern Interior – was plagued by multiple crashes and jack-knifed semis this past weekend. Fleming reiterated that safety and speed enforcement remain top priority and will still be when the highway is open to non-essential travel.

“We’ll keep on things like the enhanced maintenance,” Fleming said. “We’ll keep on the portable sign reader boards and driver education and being aware of the new posted speed limit on the number 3 when we make adjustments to it for general travel.”

Last Thursday, Fleming also said Highway 1 in the Fraser Canyon, which remains closed from Boston Bar to Spences Bridge, is still on track to reopen in mid-January.