Coquihalla Highway could reopen this holiday season, B.C. officials say

The estimated reopening date for B.C.'s storm-damaged Coquihalla Highway is being moved up once again, thanks to round-the-clock repair efforts from hundreds of workers.

Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said the government now expects to get commercial vehicles on the busy route during the holiday season, and that a clearer timeline will be provided in the coming days.

"We don't know what part of the holiday season we'll be able to do that, but that's the plan," Fleming said Monday. "Every day counts in terms of repairs we're able to make."

The minister promised to share more information on Wednesday, along with additional details on the scale of the repairs underway along the battered route.

Fleming also thanked the approximately 300 people who have been hard at work getting the crucial corridor connecting the Lower Mainland and Interior back up and running, in often difficult terrain and challenging weather conditions.

"There were two feet of snow over the weekend on the Coquihalla but I have to say the workers again did not miss a beat," he said.

The government initially expected to have the Coquihalla reopened to commercial vehicles by the end of January. Just last week, that estimate was updated to the beginning of next month.

Despite the improved outlook, which Fleming credited to crews who have "literally defied the odds," the minister cautioned that severe weather over the coming weeks could still delay progress.

Much is riding on getting the Coquihalla reopened to commercial traffic. Officials have said everyday travel will not be allowed on Highway 3 until that happens, leaving few options for B.C. residents who were hoping to travel across the southwestern part of the province over the holidays.

"For the time being, Highway 3 remains our only connection between the Lower Mainland and the Interior, and our focus there continues to be on safety," Fleming said. "We have about 3,000 trucks a day now on that highway and it's vital that we support the safe movement of essential goods."

People intent on visiting loved ones on either side of the flood-impacted highways can still book a flight, detour through the U.S. or board an intercity bus. Fleming noted that some airlines have already added departures to their schedules, and implemented price caps for the busy holiday season.

The Coquihalla was severely damaged during the Nov. 14 atmospheric river that caused catastrophic flooding and landslides along B.C.'s South Coast, and in the subsequent storms that arrived in the following weeks. There were 20 impacted sites stretching across about 130 kilometres of the highway.

Fleming toured the route on Friday, calling the level of damage "difficult to comprehend" but the speed of progress from highway crews "incredible."

Workers celebrated two major milestones last week when they reopened Bottletop Bridge and Caroline Bridge for temporary access.

"It's speeding up the movement of construction equipment along the corridor, and in turn, as each site is repaired, all the workers and equipment are being deployed to the next site," Fleming said, who said the Coquihalla is "alive with construction activity" at all times.

"From engineers to suppliers to construction firms to workers 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," he said.