Storm coming: Hwy 3 remains open, Hwy 1 closed

UPDATE: More woes on the highways.

Highway 97 was closed in both directions around 9 a.m. after an incident effecting the stretch 6 km north of Okanagan Falls to 6 km south of Penticton. Hwy 97 is a key route for trucks into the Okanagan coming off Hwy 3.

Also, there were two incidents Wednesday morning on Highway 7 east of Aggasiz. A mudslide closed the road early morning but it was soon re-opened to single lane alternating traffic. Then a multi-vehicle incident west of Kent closed the highway temporarily. It has since re-opened.

• Hwy 3 and Hwy 7 not in same condition as before first storms
• Minister says everyone needs to drive to the conditions
• Some truck drivers may not be familiar with Hwy 3

With the third of three big storms hitting southwest British Columbia late Tuesday and through Wednesday, the already challenging Highway 3 will be under even more pressure from commercial and other essential traffic.

Highway 1 out of the Lower Mainland, which was preemptively closed Sunday evening, will remain closed due to the potential flooding and landslide risks associated with the latest round of severe weather.

The Coquihalla Highway remains out of commission until at least the end of January.

B.C.’s transport minister has reminded drivers of the challenging conditions on the remaining restricted access routes and asked for everyone to slow down.

Three people died in a fatal crash involving two semi-trucks on Highway 3 on Friday.

Slow down on Hwy 3

Speaking at a media conference Tuesday, Rob Fleming said more congestion is likely on the highways that are currently operational.

“Drivers should expect some delays as all traffic will be using Highway 3 and Highway 7 in that corridor to move in and out of the region,” Fleming said. “I do remind drivers these routes are not up to the same condition before the first storm arrived two weeks ago.”

Fleming reiterated some commercial drivers may not be familiar with the routes and he asked everyone to slow down, be patient, and accept it will take longer to make the journey.

Over 100 mms of rain could fall in parts of Vancouver Island and coastal regions, with up to 80 mms in the Fraser Valley through Wednesday, which is already heavily saturated by the recent storms and the historical events mid-month.

Snow melt

Although not as severe, rain will combine with accompanying snow melt further inland, especially with freezing levels climbing as high as 3,000 metres in the mountains.

“We will see some spill-over from this event … [including] the Coquihalla summit and getting towards, although not quite, Princeton and Merritt; this event is very strong,” said Armel Castellan, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“Snow melt will add to the storm totals of rain into rivers and creeks.”

The key message from government officials as the province braces for this third storm event in as many days is to stay off the roads.

“…the cumulative effect of this succession of storms will be and continues to be a major challenge,” Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said. “The best approach is to avoid non-essential travel and wait out the weather.”