Province targeting mid-January to reopen Hwy 1 through Fraser Canyon

On Thursday, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming said late January was the target date to reopen the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy 5) with temporary repairs.

Today, Fleming addressed another main artery between the south coast and Interior, the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1) through the Fraser Canyon, revealing a similar timeline for temporary repairs to that corridor.

“We have crews with over 50 pieces of heavy equipment working non-stop here,” he explained,” and we believe we can have temporary repairs in place to have traffic moving through this area by mid-January.”

As we’ve seen elsewhere, it will not be business as usual when the route opens with temporary repairs, as there will be very restricted traffic flow with some single-lane sections.

Fleming said there were seven different sites along Hwy 1 through the Fraser Canyon and four of those sites saw major damage, which includes one bridge.

The minister offered the following site specific updates:

• Jackass Mountain: Large section of two-lane road was completely wiped out from a landslide.
• Tank Hill: The Province is working collaboratively with CP Rail to build a temporary detour where a landslide sheared off around 70 metres of a two-lane road and damaged the railway above it.
• Nicomen Bridge: Damaged with a pier left hanging in the air. Temporary structure going in while repairs are made to the existing structure.

While the news about Hwy 1 and Hwy 5 is encouraging given the circumstances, the same can’t be said for Hwy 8 between Spence’s Bridge and Merritt.

“As I commented on Tuesday, (Hwy 8) was largely destroyed,” explained Fleming.

“Significant damage occurred at 20 different locations, including four bridges, some of which were completely washed away. The Nicola River has literally carved a new path, washing away large sections of the highway in the process.”

About 5-6 kilometres of the road is “completely gone,” while another 20 km is significantly damaged, he said.

The Province is working with local and Indigenous leaders to restore as much temporary access as possible and that engagement will continue as the focus turns toward the long-term rebuild of Hwy 8.

Fleming finished his briefing today by noting that the permanent rebuilds of Hwy 1, Hwy 5 and Hwy 8 will take a long time, but added that the planning has already started.

“When we rebuild, we will rebuild better than it was. There is no question about that. Our infrastructure will be rebuilt to withstand the new climate realities that we find ourselves in.”