Hwy 3 remains closed, travel restrictions not changing soon

UPDATE: Drive BC announced 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, that Hwy 3 has re-opened to essential traffic only.

More to come.

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• No estimate for reopening of Hwy 3 and others
• Various highways with recent damage were preemptively closed ahead of latest storms
• Third in trio of storms mid-week expected to be the most intense

Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton remains closed as the province remains in the grip of one of the most severe series of storms coastal B.C. has experienced. And more rain is on the way.

Also, the threat of flooding forced the closure of a stretch of Highway 1 between Abbotsford and Chilliwack late Sunday, that was not part of the preemptive closures.

Very heavy rain has been falling on mountain ranges which is melting snowpacks and bringing more water down rivers and creeks and onto terrain already badly saturated.

While there has been no repeat of the catastrophic damage seen two weeks ago, there have been some incidents along various highways, including Highway 3. These were preemptively closed Saturday afternoon along with other highway sections, because of the intensity of this, the second in a series of three storms.

Hwy 3 update expected Monday

“While there have been no major slides or washouts occurring along any of the highways, there have been smaller issues requiring attention,” Transport Minister Rob Fleming said in a media briefing Sunday. “On Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton, some trees and minor debris came down and crews are clearing that up while the rainfall is lighter.”

Fleming said all highways were being monitored and geotechnical crews would decide when they could re-open. That info would be made available on DriveBC.

There was no estimated time for this, but the next update is expected at noon on Monday.

A post on the website said the highway would be reopened 'when it is safe.'

With the massive destruction to at least five sections along the Coquihalla highway earlier this month, Highway 3 has become the key transport route into the Okanagan.

Fleming said the government would order highways to be preemptively closed again in the days ahead as a matter of public safety and if the weather conditions dictated.

Tourism hurt by Hwy 3 restrictions

Asked about the impact to the Okanagan’s tourism sector - especially for ski resorts - leading up to Christmas and how current restrictions on highways were prohibiting travel for non-essential purposes, Fleming said those measures would stay in place.

“Highway 3 is incredibly important to reattach communities in the Lower Mainland to the Interior… the priority will continue to be commercial vehicles,” he said. “We want the restrictions to be temporary, but they will be based on an assessment of what is the greatest needs for British Columbians and that continues to be an important corridor for commercial travel”

Meanwhile, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the third storm, expected mid-week, could be the worst.

“While the varied forecast models differ, this next storm could be the most intense since the original storm pulse hit two weeks ago,” Farnworth said, adding residents all along the coast, on Vancouver Island, Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley, faced “an extremely volatile situation.”

Merritt facing fresh flooding

Meanwhile officials in Merritt ordered fresh evacuations Sunday afternoon based on the possibility of flooding by Sunday night.

All residents under the Evacuation Order (everywhere south of Nicola Avenue) needed to leave the area by 3 p.m. Sunday.

Day access was suspended until further notice due to rising river levels and weather risks over the coming days.

Canadian military personnel were brought in to help prepare for the latest high water surge.

"It’s now appropriate to bring in the army to help shore up our flood defences," mayor Linda Brown said. "Their work will help to ensure that we are as well-prepared as we can possibly be when the next pulse of streamflow hits us, which is currently expected in the evening of Sunday November 28th.”