Road conditions: B.C.'s Highway 7 reopened to essential traffic, minister says

Vancouver -

A critical link between Hope, B.C. and the rest of the Lower Mainland has reopened for limited, essential travel, the province's Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure said Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference in the afternoon, Minister Rob Fleming said Highway 7 has been reopened to alternating single-lane traffic.

Fleming began his remarks by thanking crews who have worked around the clock to clear debris from landslides off of the province's road network.

He described restoring travel on Highway 7 as part of the process of re-establishing the "key link" between the Lower Mainland and the Interior.

"The next piece in this link is a connection to Highway 3," Fleming said. "This will be - make no mistake about it - for very limited traffic, but it looks to be feasible by the end of this weekend."

Earlier in the day, commercial drivers who were stuck in Hope because of landslides had an opportunity to head towards the Lower Mainland, with Highway 7 open to westbound commercial traffic at 10 a.m.

"The intent of this opening is to allow those commercial drivers stranded in Hope and area to make their way toward the Lower Mainland," the province said in its update.

A similar option was provided for passenger vehicles Wednesday night.

Several other highways remain closed in the province's south following the intense storm that sent mud, rocks and trees onto roadways on Sunday and Monday. The slides killed at least one person near Lillooet and stranded hundreds more in their vehicles in different locations.

On Thursday, Fleming said the province expected to be able to reopen Highway 99 to alternating traffic in the coming days, as well, but he stressed that people should not be travelling reopened routes unless it's absolutely necessary.

"As we begin to get these high-priority routes open, we are drafting traffic plans to make sure that we prioritize essential goods and services to get through first, and we will update those traffic plans as other types of travel are feasible," he said.

Relatedly, Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth said Thursday that the B.C. government would be implementing orders limiting travel using its authority under the provincial state of emergency.

Assessments and repair plans for other routes are ongoing and, in general, people are being asked to avoid travel altogether, especially if it's non-essential. Other highways, like the Coquihalla, don't have a reopening estimate at all. An estimate also hasn't been given for when Highway 1 through Abbotsford will reopen.  

Other local road closures are also in place across southern B.C., and there may be updates not published in this article. Travellers should check the full list on DriveBC's website.