Province sets late-January timeline for opening Coquihalla to commercial traffic
MERRITT, B.C. — The province says it is aiming to have commercial trucks using the full length of the Coquihalla Highway again by late January.
However in a news conference Thursday (Nov. 25), Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming told reporters that will all depend on what Mother Nature throws at work crews in the coming days and weeks.
“We’re reasonably optimistic that enough temporary repairs can be completed to allow commercial traffic on the corridor in about two months time — by late January,” said Fleming. “With that, I do have to caution that the weather will be a factor, a key consideration in determining whether we can reach that target.”
Crews have found 20 sites along a 130-kilometre stretch of the Coquihalla that were heavily damaged by last week’s historic rainfall and subsequent runoff. The damage includes five bridge spans that were either collapsed or completely washed away.