Highway between Hope and Merritt, British Columbia, closed due to extreme weather

Original Story posted by The Canadian Press

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation says the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt will be closed until at least Saturday afternoon due to extreme weather.

The ministry says it’s also planning avalanche control work Saturday, but that work is also weather dependent.

It says crews and equipment are standing by to clear the route once the avalanche control work is done.

The ministry says more than 70 centimetres of snow has fallen on the stretch of highway in the last two days with no signs of it letting up.

Both Highway 1 and Highway 3 are potential alternate routes to and from the province’s Interior, but the ministry is warning drivers to expect “significant delays.”

It also says drivers should be aware of rapidly changing weather conditions and to outfit their vehicles with proper winter tires.

A map of the closure | Courtesy of DriveBC.

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