Coquihalla highway restarts to commercial vehicles

Key takeaways:

The important connection between Metro Vancouver and Interior severed Nov. 15; constraints raising on Highways 3 and 99.
Large rigs are once again moving down B.C.’s Coquihalla Highway, five weeks after the central route was severed by destructive floods and landslides.

Coquihalla highway finally opens to commercial vehicles:

The Coquihalla Highway has reopened to commercial vehicles and inter-city buses a month after it was extremely hurt by floods and mudslides.

The arterial highway that links Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley to the B.C. Interior was impaired in almost 20 areas after mudslides in mid-November struck out numerous bridges.

The highway had been shut to all journeys since Nov. 15.

Effective Monday, the Coquihalla, also known as Highway 5, is open to commercial automobiles with the lowest permitted gross automobile weight (GVW) of 11,794 kilograms.

Transportation Minister Rob Fleming stated around-the-clock work by teams to make quick restorations was a “remarkable feat” of engineering.

Coquihalla highway reopens to commercial traffic after destructive floods and mudslides

Permanent restorations to the time will take longer, Fleming stated and will appear as important traffic flows through the corridor. There is no date set for when the highway will unlock to all vehicles.

The outcome was a result of historic measures by the Transportation ministry and contractors, stated Kelly Scott, president of the B.C. Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association. He stated there were almost 300 staffers and 200 machines working away at distinct job areas along the highway.

Three contracting firms — including pipeline employees and their equipment, who shifted their actions to the highway — attacked the quick repairs.

“We had a three-headed dragon that was striking this, with the help of every other road builder in the province of British Columbia and their suppliers,” Scott stated. Source – cbc.ca

“We’ve never seen the industry come together so fast with the Ministry of Transportation.” Source – cbc.ca