Highway 5 about 36 kilometres south of Merritt at Larson Hill, looking south, as of 9:40 a.m. Wednesday (Image Credit: DriveBC)

By Aaron Schulze

Coquihalla Watch

Vehicle incident snarls northbound traffic on the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt

Dec 17, 2025 | 9:33 AM

MERRITT, B.C. — Traffic on the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt will be halted throughout the morning. 

DriveBC first reported of a vehicle incident at around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday (Dec. 17). The stretch of Highway 5 is expected to reopen at 1:00 p.m. 

A snowfall warning remains in effect for the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt, with nearly 10 to 15 more centimetres of expected before snow eases Wednesday night. Environment Canada says wind gusts of up to 70 km/h are also expected, which could lead to local blowing snow. Around 30 centimetres of snow has accumulated as of around 4:00 a.m. Wednesday. 

A detour is in effect via Highway 1 from Hope to Lytton. Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton remains closed as an engineering assessment continues following damage from last week’s atmospheric river event.