Coquihalla to remain closed between Merritt and Hope through Saturday morning

MERRITT, B.C. — If you are planning to drive down to the Lower Mainland Saturday (Mar. 4), your best bet may be the Trans Canada Highway through the Fraser Canyon.

Drive BC says the Coquihalla Highway will remain closed between Merritt and Hope until at least early Saturday afternoon.

The provincial agency says extreme avalanche conditions are making travel through the area unsafe.

That stretch of highway has been closed throughout the day Friday during a major snowfall event. In a news release issued late Friday afternoon, the province’s transportation ministry says more than 70 centimetres of snow has fallen on the highest elevation of the route in the past 48 hours.