Coquihalla has reopened

Editor’s Note: This article originally reported that the Coquihalla Highway had reopened. It was update to reflect that there were conflicting reports as to whether the highway was open. It was further updated to reflect confirmation the highway has reopened.

Accidents and avalanche control continued to restrict the travel options for Okanagan drivers on Friday. However, by mid-afternoon on Friday DriveBC showed that many of the major routes had reopened.

Highway 1

– The highway is closed between the Okanagan and the coast. High avalanche hazard has closed the highway between Yale and Boston Bar.
– The highway has reopened east of Revelstoke through Glacier National Park after avalanche control was completed.
– A travel advisory is no longer in place for the Trans Canada between Craigalachie and the Alberta border.

Coquihalla

– DriveBC and the Ministry of Transportation are reporting that Highway 5 is open. The province is cautioning drivers to use “extreme caution.”

Highway 3

– The highway is open between the Okanagan and the coast.
– The road has reopened in the Christina Lake area after avalanche control was completed.

Highway 5A

– The highway has reopened north of Princeton after a closure for avalanche control. However, the road is still reduced to single lane alternating traffic.

The highway closures have also impacted at least one local sports team. The Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL had to cancel their game against the Cowichan Valley Capitals because they could not make it to Vancouver Island for tonight’s game.

– this story has been updated with the latest highway information as of 3:05 p.m. Friday