B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says some permanent repairs to the Hope to Merritt section of the Coquihalla could be complete by the end of this year.

The ministry is out with a request for proposals (RFP) ahead of picking contractors to design and repair three sites – the Bottletop Bridges, 50 kilometres south of Merritt, the Juliet Bridges, three kilometres south of Bottletop, and the Jessica Bridges, 48 kilometres south of Juliet.

In a statement Thursday morning, the ministry says the permanent repairs will return the Coquihalla back to four-lanes, noting the sites will be built to withstand future extreme weather events.

“Our crews worked hard to get the Coquihalla reopened after the severe flooding event and were able to do so in short order about a month after the storm. The pace of reconstruction to get the Coquihalla back open to traffic was impressive and beyond anything we could have imagined,” Rob Fleming, B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, said, in a statement.

“We are excited to move forward on the permanent reconstruction of this key route. We will be making our infrastructure more resilient to climate change and future weather events so it remains reliable, safe and efficient for people and as our key goods movement corridor for now and for years to come.”

The RFP process will close in mid-April, and the province expects to award the contract in late April or early May, with construction expected to begin in summer.

More than 20 sites along 130 kilometres of the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt were damaged by flooding and mudslides in November. Over 300 workers worked around the clock to get the highway back open for commercial vehicles on Dec. 20 last year, and to all traffic a month later on Jan. 19.

The ministry says it will also be proceeding with repair work in the Othello area, about 10 kilometres east of Hope, noting the Coquihalla is the first priority.

Permanent repair work will also be taking on other highways damaged by flooding in November, including Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon and Highway 8 in the Nicola Valley.

More information on those repairs will be coming in the next few weeks.