Hwy 3 among closures, temporary Hwy 1 repairs by mid-January

• Hwy 3 and Hwy 1 to be preemptively closed Saturday
• Hwy 1 could be operational by end of January

UPDATE: The province announced the preemptive highway closures would start at 2 p.m. Saturday.

-

It's one step forward but two steps back for a couple of B.C.'s most important routes from the Lower Mainland into the Interior.

On Friday, the government announced Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon could be open by mid-January to restricted travel, as long as the weather cooperates.

However, a serious crash closed Hwy 3 Friday morning, the best current route to the Okanagan,. which serves as a reminder that driving conditions ‘are far from normal’.

Also, BC Transportation announced late Friday, both Hwy 1 and Hwy 3 would be preemptively closed Saturday afternoon as the latest storms move in. These closures will be re-evaluated Sunday morning.

Transport Minister Rob Fleming shared the news about the temporary repairs to Hwy 1 through the Fraser Canyon during a Friday morning press conference, after detailing a prognosis of the damage.

He said seven sites along the canyon portion of the Trans-Canada need repair, including one bridge, after devastating flooding and landslides caused by an atmospheric river tore through the area.

Temporary repairs are underway at Jackass Mountain, where a large section of the two-lane road was wiped out from a landslide.

At Tank Hill, he said the government is working alongside Canadian Pacific Railway to remedy severely damaged infrastructure. A landslide sheered off about 70 m of a two-lane road and damaged the railway above it.

When it does open, Fleming said traffic will face heavy restrictions in some places, including a temporary at-grade rail crossing.

Highway 8, which connects Merritt to Spences Bridge, is “largely destroyed,” he said. Twenty locations are damaged, including four bridges, some, completely washed away.

The Nicola River, which runs alongside the highway, has carved a new path, Fleming said, washing away large parts of the road in the process.

About five to six kilometres of the highway is “completely gone,” while another 20 km is significantly damaged.

Long term fixes

“Permanent rebuilds of Highways 1 and 8, and the Coquihalla, will take a long time, there is no question about it, but the planning has already started,” Fleming said.

“When we rebuild, we will rebuild better than it was,” he added, maintaining climate adaptation will be taken into consideration.

Hway 3 crash

Highway 3 remains under a travel order and will for some time. About 4,000 commercial trucks have travelled the corridor since it reopened late last week.

However, accidents continue to plague that route, forcing very lengthy closures, severing the crucial path between the Lower Mainland and Interior. Drivers are advised to be patient and slow down.

A serious accident closed the highway after 7 a.m. Friday, west of Princeton.

As of 6 p.m. it had still not reopened.

Fleming told the media that, despite this accident, Highway 3 has proven to be an effective route for essential commercial vehicles to move goods and supplies since reopening last week.

However, the serious incident that closed the route was a reminder for everyone.

“Unfortunately, this morning, there was a serious accident on this route west of Princeton. This is a reminder to all drivers to please slow down, to be attentive, be patient. Crews are continuing to repair and upgrade corridors and conditions are far from normal, ” Fleming said.

More rain coming and preemptive closures

Late Friday afternoon, B.C. Transportation announced Hwy 1 through the Fraser Canyon and Hwy 3 from Hope to Princeton would close as a precautionary measure Saturday afternoon.

The duration of the preemptive closure, needed because of the impending severe weather, was not clear.

A re-evaluation was to be determined Sunday morning.

On the rail transportation side, CP has been up and running since Tuesday, with Canadian National anticipating getting back online “shortly.”

More atmospheric rivers are set to swamp the region again in the coming days.

People are advised to avoid travelling but should be prepared with supplies if they need to head out.

Fleming said drivers should be prepared for highways to close preemptively if, for example, weather conditions dictate.