Snow closes Coquihalla for hours

UPDATE: The bad-weather closure has now been lifted

UPDATE (5:05 p.m.): The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says the closure of Highway 5 (as well as Highway 1, north of Hope. which is also closed tonight) are “necessary for the safety of the travelling public.”

Heavy snowfall in the Southern Interior has totalled more than 30 centimetres in five hours. The MOTI says its maintenance crews “are doing everything possible to clear the roads,” having deployed more than 25 snow graders and other equipment.

That equipment “will continue to work around the clock to clear the roads for drivers,” but in the meantime drivers are being encouraged to revise their travel plans if they are heading north of Hope on Highway 1 or northeast on Highway 5.

Meanwhile, DriveBC has revised its opening time for the northbound section of the Coquihalla from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

UPDATE (4:30 p.m.) DriveBC is now saying Highway 5 is open heading southbound, but that the northbound section from Hope to Merritt remains closed. The highway is estimated to reopen fully by 5 p.m.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The Coquhilla Highway is closed in both directions from Hope to Merritt thanks to “heavy snowfall.”

DriveBC is reporting the closure on Highway 5, and says an assessment of the situation is currently in progress. Webcam footage of the highway show traffic at a standstill in the Box Canyon area and the Coquihilla summit.

Last night Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for the area, noting that a Pacific frontal system would dump as much as 25 centimetres of snow in the area.

Early this morning DriveBC was already warning drivers to use caution on the road or make plans to stay off it.

So far, KelownaNow has received no reports of major accidents on that stretch of road.

Environment Canada says another 10 to 15 centimetres of snow is expected to fall on the region tonight, taping off Friday morning.

DriveBC says the Okanagan Connector from Peachland to Merritt is experiencing compact snow with slushy conditions.

More information to come.