Photo of the Coquihalla Highway at Box Canyon (southbound) after a 35-hour closure of the highway due to avalanche control/via DriveBC
UPDATE 5 p.m.: The Coquihalla between Hope and Merritt has reopened to all traffic after a nearly day-and-a-half shutdown of the Coquihalla due to heavy snow and an accident early Friday morning.
✅OPEN – #BCHwy5 both directions between #HopeBC & #Merritt after avalanche control. #Coquihalla #Kamloops
— DriveBC (@DriveBC) March 5, 2023
The shutdown caused major delays for travelers taking the alternative route to and from the Lower Mainland to the Interior on the Trans Canada Highway, through the Fraser Canyon.
Drive BC was reporting two-hour delays at one point through the Canyon.
That Hope to Merritt section of the Coquihalla was closed in both directions starting at 5:30 a.m. Friday, with the exception of a three hour window from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. when the northbound lanes were open following a crash at the Ladner Creek Bridge.
The avalanche-related closure began at 10:30 a.m. Friday, with avalanche control work getting underway this morning in anticipation of an opening this afternoon.
@kurtbrown3386♬ original sound – Kurtis Brown
@kurtbrown3386♬ Sail – AWOLNATION
