Here's how Coquihalla highway bridges have been rebuilt

The provincial government has announced the full completion to the massive permanent repairs to sections of the Coquihalla highway washed away by the November 2021 atmospheric river event.

Speaking Wednesday, two years on from the natural disaster that damaged more than 20 sites along a 130 km stretch of highway between Hope and Merritt, BC Transport Minister Rob Fleming said the key route is now more resilient and reliable.

Six bridge spans located at three different locations have been rebuilt to handle extreme weather.

"Climate-resilient highways are crucial for British Columbia. The province has improved infrastructure to handle more frequent extreme-weather events in the future," Fleming said while thanking various First Nations as well as contractors, unions, ministry and road-maintenance staff for their huge efforts.

The new permanent bridges are now finished at Bottletop Bridge, 50 km south of Merritt, and Jessica Bridge, 20 km north of Hope. The bridges at Juliet, 53 km south of Merritt, were completed earlier this year.

The new bridges are built to withstand high water levels by using deep-pile footings and longer spans. Large rock protection has been added to protect the bridges from erosion and scour.

The Coquihalla highway (Hwy 5) was shut down completely following the events of Nov.14, 2021.

Despite six bridges where spans were completely collapsed or were damaged, the highway reopened to commercial vehicle traffic in 35 days, on Dec. 20, 2021. All traffic was able to travel on it as of Jan. 19, 2022.

Permanent repairs to bridges destroyed along Highway 1 are still underway.