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Coquihalla reopens after sinkhole repairs completed south of Merritt

Paul James
Jun 7, 2025 | 8:33 PM


Coquihalla reopens after sinkhole repairs completed south of Merritt

Vehicle traffic begins to pick up along Coquihalla Highway after extended closures south of Merritt due to sinkhole discovery/via DriveBC

After being snarled up since Friday, the Coquihalla Highway is now fully reopened.

DriveBC and Yellowhead Road and Bridge Nicola, the area road contractor, have confirmed crews were able to open the Highway on Saturday evening after being forced to close it down northbound between Merritt and Hope following the discovery of a major hole in the road.

The dangerous sinkhole formed sometime late afternoon Thursday along the northbound lane, about 80 kilometers south of Merritt.

It prompted crews into immediate action, which eventually included digging a massive trench through the northbound section of the highway.

Photo showing the depth of the pothole discovered on the Coquihalla on Thursday evening/via Peter Henry Enns on Facebook

This prompted the closure of the Coquihalla in both directions for a time on Friday due to concerns the massive sinkhole could have been part of a larger problem with the highway itself.

However, crews were able to work throughout Friday and part of Saturday to get the critical transportation link reopened to traffic.

During the shutdown, traffic was re-routed along the TransCanada through the Fraser Canyon, creating its own set of challenges for those moving into and out of the Southern Interior.

Reports Friday afternoon suggested there were massive backups along the TransCanada through the Fraser Canyon in the Lytton area due to Coquihalla traffic being rerouted through that stretch, as well as along Highway 3.

Officials are warning there may still be some delays as crews wrap up the work along the stretch through the weekend.