In the photo: The drivebc.ca webcam showing the Coquihalla Highway, 61 km south of Merritt at Coquihalla Lakes looking north on February 21 after 11 a.m.
Update: The Coquihalla Highway was reopened Saturday morning at about 10 a.m. Drivers are asked to slow down and watch for equipment working as well as reduced lane width from exit 202 to 228.
Anyone thinking of travelling this weekend may want to think twice.
As of Friday night the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt was closed in both directions due to a high avalanche hazard with no estimated time of reopening this weekend.
Ministry of Transportation avalanche technicians conducted one of the largest avalanche control operations in the Coquihalla Highway’s 27-year existence on Friday.
Avalanche control operations will continue on Saturday February 22, weather permitting.
As of 9:07 p.m. Friday, alternate routes were available via Highway 1 and Highway 8 or Highway 3 and Highway 97 to the Okanagan. Motorists are advised to check DriveBC.ca for updates.
Over the course of two weeks, the Coquihalla Highway has been plagued by constant closures, heavy snowfalls, and avalanche hazards and cleanup operations.
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone released a statement on Friday addressing the extreme conditions on Highway 5.
“Today, the Coquihalla Highway remains closed between Hope and Merritt because of a high avalanche hazard. The highway will remain closed until avalanche control activities can be completed to ensure the safety of the travelling public,” Stone said in the release.
Stone also said that over the past 10 days there have been almost three meters (about nine feet) of snow along the Coquihalla Highway corridor.
“This huge volume of snow is sitting on a weak layer, making it very unstable. The result has been slides on paths that have never before reached the highway in the 27 years that the Coquihalla Highway has been open,” stated the release.
The ministry’s avalanche technicians have been conducting avalanche control activities for the past two weeks.
On Thursday a significant avalanche struck the Coquihalla Highway, Ministry of Transportation regional highways manager for Thompson-Nicola area Paula Cousins told the Herald.
She said no one was caught in the avalanche and the snow that hit the highway was about a metre in depth and 100 metres wide.
Last week the Coquihalla Highway received about a metre of snow, and it was closed on January 15 for avalanche control and reopened later that day.
Multiple closures of the highway followed on Monday and Tuesday due to vehicle incidents in particular at Box Canyon and the Great Bear Snowshed.
The Coquihalla received another 30 cm of snow on Tuesday and was closed north and southbound between Hope and Merritt for avalanche control again.
It remained closed on Wednesday due to a high avalanche hazard and avalanche control.
It reopened Wednesday night, but it was closed again on Thursday after the massive avalanche.
The highway was hit with another 30cm of snow Thursday night.
Avalanche control activities involve multiple techniques such as using helicopters to drop explosive charges on snowpacks.
