Coquihalla Highway reopened after more than 24-hour closure
More than 24 hours after it closed because of "extreme winter weather" the Coquihalla Highway reopened late Saturday afternoon.
The stretch of Highway 5 between Hope and Merritt closed in both directions before 11 a.m. Friday as crews dealt with significantly more snow than had been forecast.
A statement from the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure on Friday afternoon indicated that more than 70 centimetres of snow had fallen on the highway over the preceding 48 hours.
At the time, Environment and Climate Change Canada was forecasting an additional 15 centimetres to fall on the route overnight.
The ministry's statement advised travellers to take Highway 1 or Highway 3 as an alternative route between the Lower Mainland and the Interior, but warned that "significant delays" were likely.
The heavy snowfall added to the already-significant avalanche risk in the region, and the road remained closed for most of the day Saturday to allow avalanche control work to take place.
The ministry's Twitter account shared updates on the work throughout the day, at one point tweeting a 30-second video of a large slide coming down the side of a mountain.
At 4:30 p.m., DriveBC tweeted that the Coquihalla Highway had reopened.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liam Payne, former One Direction member, dies at 31 in Argentina hotel fall
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, local officials said.
Harris' interview with Fox News is marked by testy exchanges over immigration and more
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris engaged in a combative first interview with Fox News on Wednesday, sparring on immigration policy and shifting policy positions while asserting that if elected, she would not represent a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency.
W5 INVESTIGATES Ontario woman alleges sexual assault by junior hockey players; details what happened when she called police
The Ontario Provincial Police has acknowledged that one of its employees did not follow the organization's policy when an alleged victim of sexual assault called a local detachment earlier this year to report an incident involving eight former junior hockey players.
Investigators name person of interest in disappearance of Vancouver Island woman
Mounties have released startling new details about their investigation into the disappearance of Amber Manthorne, who was reported missing on Vancouver Island more than two years ago, and is believed to have met with foul play.
JD Vance says 'no,' Trump did not lose the 2020 U.S. election
U.S. vice-presidential candidate JD Vance said "no," former U.S. president Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election "by the words" the Ohio Republican would use, when asked Wednesday what message it sends to independent voters that he has not directly answered that question.
'Vindictive and malicious': B.C. court weighs in on long-running neighbour dispute
A B.C. judge has issued a decision in a years-long dispute between neighbours that began with a noise complaint over barking dogs, crowing roosters and quacking ducks – awarding $15,000 in damages to the plaintiffs in the case.
'The risk is real': Book on Manitoba mushrooms suspected to be written by AI
A Manitoba professor is warning the public after a book on regional mushrooms that he suspects is AI-generated was delisted from Amazon.
Group of Liberal MPs plan to verbally ask Trudeau to step down next week
Liberal MPs who have spent the last 10 days organizing to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step aside from the leadership of the Liberal party plan to plead their case directly to him at next Wednesday's caucus.
Canada Revenue Agency fires 330 employees over CERB claims during pandemic
The Canada Revenue Agency says it has terminated 330 employees for inappropriately receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit during the pandemic, giving its final update on an internal review.