Drivers between Merritt and Kamloops faced hours-long closure on Coquihalla Highway
Drivers between Merritt and Kamloops were stranded for hours, facing long delays and lane restrictions on the Coquihalla Highway, 1: 21 p. m. ET, after multiple crashes and unsafe winter conditions forced a closure, Merritt RCMP said.
Merritt motorists report hours-long delays and changing road conditions
Amanda Horner, travelling northbound between Merritt and Kamloops with her husband and young children, said her family was stuck in traffic for more than three hours and encountered rapidly changing conditions. “We have hit all kinds of weather, ” Horner said, adding it was “snowing hard and roads were slick and deep. ” She said northbound traffic eventually began moving after truck drivers pulled their vehicles aside to allow smaller vehicles through.
Coquihalla Highway closure five kilometres south of Helmer Road exit
Merritt RCMP said they received a number of reports of motor vehicle collisions about five kilometres south of the Helmer Road exit, and that the highway was closed between Merritt and Kamloops because of unsafe road conditions following multiple crashes.
Emergency response and patient transport after crashes
B. C. Emergency Health Services responded to a motor vehicle incident along the highway at 1: 21 p. m. ET and dispatched four ambulances; three patients were treated at the scene and taken to hospital. Drivers also reported long delays during the closure while responders worked on-site.
DriveBC movement updates and Environment and Climate Change Canada weather statement
DriveBC said traffic is now moving again along Highway 5 and that motorists should expect delays as backed-up traffic clears; one update noted a single lane in each direction was open and that travel was not recommended. Traffic cameras showed significant snowfall in the area while Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a special weather statement warning that strong, gusty southwesterly winds were likely along the Coquihalla Highway corridor from Hope to Kamloops and along Highway 3, as well as further east in the Kootenays.
If crews clear the crash sites and the backlog of stalled vehicles, delays are expected to ease.
