Snowplows on the Coquihalla near the Great Bear Snow Shed. (Photo via YRB Nicola)
A heads up for drivers on the Coquihalla – the highway between Hope and Merritt will be closed this evening for avalanche control.
DriveBC says the closure between Exit 183 at Peers Creek Road, north of Hope, and Exit 286, south of Merritt, will be in effect from 10 p.m. tonight until 4 a.m. tomorrow morning.
The work comes as the Coquihalla Summit saw over 70 cm of snow since Dec. 31, 2020 with more expected by the end of this week. Going back to 1986 when the highway opened, the Ministry of Transpiration says the current accumulations are the third-deepest snowpack for this time of the year, with a current total accumulation of over 500 cm – 150 per cent the average snowfall for this time of year.
“The avalanche control, using explosives, is due to heavy snowfall over the last several weeks,” a statement from the Ministry of Transpiration said. “This will remove any weak layers of snow and ice and reduce the overall depth of the snowpack, providing continued safe travel for people using the Coquihalla.”
“The ministry’s avalanche program is run by highly trained avalanche professionals who monitor weather and snowpack conditions continuously during the avalanche season. The program manages more than 60 avalanche areas that include almost 1,400 individual avalanche paths throughout the province.”
If you have to travel, people are being asked to take Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon or Highway 3 as a detour.
Meanwhile, Yellowhead Road and Bridge says to expect heavy snowfall tonight into tomorrow morning at the Coquihalla Summit, with snow expected to begin around 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. this afternoon before easing off between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. in the morning.
In all, about 20 to 35 cm of snow could call from Merritt to the Snow Shed Hill, while another 10 to 20 cm could fall at the Okanagan Connector, and about 5 to 10 cm north from Merritt to Lac Le Jeune.
(Photo via Yellowhead Road and Bridge)
Heads Up – #BCHwy5 – ⚠Avalanche control road closure planned between Exit 183/Peers Creek Rd [#HopeBC]and Exit 286/#MerrittBC 10 PM Tuesday Jan 5 to 4 AM Wednesday Jan 6. Details: https://t.co/lYXxnL6Urh @EAMOperations @YRBNicola @511Alberta
— DriveBC (@DriveBC) January 5, 2021
