More than 19 months after record-breaking floods wreaked havoc on southwestern B.C., the province is celebrating a milestone in repairs to a major highway.
Six bridges were destroyed on the Coquihalla during the natural disaster on Nov. 14 and 15, 2021. More than 20 sites were damaged in the floods and washouts in total, over a 130-kilometre stretch between Hope and Merritt.
Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming said Friday a new bridge has been built on Highway 5 every 100 days since the catastrophe, with “four down, two to go.”
“This, in many respects, is going to be a brand new highway at the most critical pinch points that failed in weather than we never anticipated,” he said during a tour of the new, permanent southbound lanes of the Juliet Bridge, three kilometres south of Bottletop.
“It’s infrastructure we can be proud of, it’s going to last.”
Buildings, homes, vehicles and roads were washed out in the unprecedented atmospheric rivers of November 2021 and the mudslides that accompanied it. Five people were killed, along with tens of thousands of livestock animals.
It remains among the most expensive natural disasters in Canadian history.
Fleming said the Coquihalla, which connects parts of the Interior to the Lower Mainland, has been built to “new standards” that are more resilient to climate impacts, with deeper pilings and better reinforcement.
“Also doing it right is taking time to make wildlife crossings,” he said. “Also in respect to the environment and the values that we have as a province for species like moose and bear in the Coquihalla Valley.”
The entire Coquihalla rebuild, he added, is expected to cost about $350 million — within the ballparked budget. Much of those funds could come from the federal government’s Disaster Financial Assistance program, which the B.C. government qualifies for, he said.
Combined with much-needed repairs to Highway 8, the Nicola Highway and Highway 1, the cost is about $1 billion.
“It is a lot of money, but quite frankly, I think when we saw the aerial views about how much damage was sustained, it’s an amount of money we can manage,” Fleming said. “Also, not a single job in terms of the ministry’s capital program was deferred or delayed.”
The minister thanked all of the crews that have taken time away from families, often in frigid temperatures, to reconnect British Columbians to their roadways.
As of June, the Coquihalla’s new permanent Bottletop Northbound Bridge and Jessica Southbound Bridge had reopened. The southbound and northbound bridges, respectively, are still undergoing construction.
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