A section of Highway 1 west of Revelstoke that had been closed since Thursday night reopened Saturday evening.
The highway had been closed in both directions 25 kilometres west of Revelstoke to Sicamous due to flooding at the Camp Creek Bridge, which overflowed just after 11 p.m. on Thursday. A build-up of debris at the bridge backed up the creek and sent water flowing across the highway.
The Ministry of Transportation said Saturday morning that crews were clearing debris from the washout.
Officials announced the road finally was open to traffic around 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
BC Transportation said Friday afternoon the water flow under the bridge has been restored and a bridge assessment is ongoing.
Drive BC suggested an alternate route via Highway 23 and Highway 6 through Shelter Bay, Galena Bay, Needles and Fauquier and travellers should also consider Highways 3 and 5.
The closure caused heavy traffic in the area and as a result, officials closed Highway 1 westbound from Golden to avoid traffic backing up in Revelstoke. Only local traffic was being allowed through.
This closure means hundreds of drivers are stuck in Golden because they can’t get through.
Global National reporter Reid Fiest was one of those drivers. He was headed to the Shuswap on Thursday evening when he was stopped by the closure. He spent the night in a hotel and was hoping to leave this morning but was unable to do so. Fiest said all the hotel rooms in Golden are full, along with the restaurants.
“If this is going to be shut down for days then anyone from Alberta or from the eastern part of B.C. will really want to go back,” he said.
Fiest said Drive BC is tweeting out updates but they were not being overly clear when the highway will reopen.
“This is going to disrupt things for a lot of people,” he said.
“Apparently Revelstoke is even worse packed than Golden, and that’s why crews don’t want us to go west. We could, the highway is clear all the way to Revy, but they won’t allow you because they say there’s just too many cars in Revy right now.”
There is a very long detour available but it’s estimated to take about 10 hours. The detour is via Highway 23 and Highway 6, through Shelter Bay, Galena Bay, Needles, and Fauquier.
Transportation B.C. said the area received approximately 40 millimetres of rain in a short time period.
The highway was closed west of Golden Thursday evening following a fatal crash but it did reopen late Thursday night.
Watch Below: There is bad news for many with travel plans this weekend, the Trans-Canada Highway is closed west of Revelstoke until at least Saturday after a highway washout Thursday evening. As Megan Turcato reports, the traffic headaches are going beyond Highway 1 as stranded motorist clog the detour route.
— With files from Jon Azpiri
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