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Coquihalla Highway
Winter driving conditions with heavy snow in mountain passes
SNOWFALL WARNING FOR SOUTH THOMPSON THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The heavy snow is forecast on the highways through mountain passes in the southern Interior today, Nov. 14, and overnight will make travel a challenge, and winter tires or chains a necessity. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement warning of up to 40 centimetres of snow...
Rollover on Coquihalla north of Merritt; one person injured
MERRITT – A single vehicle rollover closed the northbound lanes of Highway 5 between Merritt and Kamloops this morning and sent one person to hospital. The crash happened at about 8:55 a.m., Nov. 8, about 28 kilometres north of Merritt, according to Merritt RCMP. A pickup towing a trailer overturned and blocked the northbound lanes...
Snow on the Okanagan Connector
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Drivers heading out on the highway should be prepared for a bit of snow at the higher elevations this morning. Drive B.C. is showing snow at several of the higher Okanagan elevations and temperatures are currently sitting around 0 Celsius. At the Coquihalla Summit it is currently raining and temperatures are sitting around...
Coquihalla crash near Kamloops claims a life
KAMLOOPS – A crash on the Coquihalla Highway near Kamloops Friday afternoon claimed the life of the driver. RCMP say a SUV driven by an unidentified woman drifted of the highway south of the city, Sept. 11. She was the only one in the vehicle. The woman was driving northbound when the SUV left the...
Man killed in Merritt crash named
MERRITT - A 32-year-old man from Surrey died when the vehicle he was in hit a rock bluff near Merritt last week. Jesse Dan Dietz was a passenger in a pickup truck that left the roadway and hit a rock bluff on Highway 5 near Merritt around 8 a.m. on Aug. 31, according to the...
UPDATE: Serious, multi-vehicle crash on Coquihalla south of Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – Emergency crews were on the scene of a crash involving multiple vehicles on the Coquihalla Highway south of Kamloops Sunday, which sent six people to hospital. RCMP say just before 11 a.m., July 26, they were called to the series of crashes in the northbound lanes of Highway 5 near the Inks Lake...
Northbound Coquihalla closed near Inks Lake
KAMLOOPS - A truck pulling a travel trailer flipped on Highway 5 and is now blocking both northbound lanes near Inks Lake. Staff Sgt. Doug Aird with the rural RCMP says a truck pulling a trailer lost a front tire, causing the driver to lose control and the trailer to flip. It came to rest...
UPDATE: Coquihalla Highway fully reopens southbound
MERRITT – A motorcycle crash partially closed the Coquihalla Highway southbound between Merritt and Hope this afternoon. According to Drive B.C., the crash closed the southbound lanes on Highway 5 about two kilometres north of the Mine Creek exit around 1 p.m., July 18. One southbound lane reopened at about 2:30 p.m. and both lanes...
UPDATE: Semi fire on Coquihalla Highway
MERRITT – A semi burst into flames on the Coquihalla Highway this afternoon, severely restricting traffic for several hours. VSA Highway Maintenance says the route was fully reopened as of 4:30 p.m, June 28. The fire, about 1 kilometre north of the Great Bear snowshed, had forced the closure of one lane. No word on...
Expect to see smoke along the Coquihalla this week
KAMLOOPS - A series of small burns north of Merritt, off the Coquihalla Highway, will be conducted by Wildfire Management Branch personnel starting this week. The controlled burns will take place Thursday, April 30, and Tuesday, May 5, and are in preparation for a training course that will help students determine the origin and cause...
Snowfall advisory for Coquihalla
KAMLOOPS - Several centimetres of snow has already fallen on the Coquihalla Highway between Kamloops and Merritt and Drive B.C. is warning of more snow for that stretch of highway before the night is over. Drive B.C. is calling for 10 to 15 cm of snowfall for the stretch of highway from the Portia Interchange...
More snow falling on Coq and Hope-Princeton
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A dump of snow on the Coquihalla and the Hope-Princeton highways overnight is being following with another heavy snowfall today. A vigorous cold front passed through the Southwest Interior overnight dropping 10 to 15 centimetres of snow on the Coquihalla Summit and the Allison Pass, according to a Special Weather Statement from Environment...
Highway upgrades near Kamloops top key provincial priorities
KAMLOOPS - Upgrades to Highway 1, Highway 5, cycling infrastructure and rest areas are among the many items listed in the recently released 10-year provincial plan. The Ministry of Transportation released the 10-year transportation plan, B.C. on the Move, this week. The plan outlines 12 key priorities, from improving highway safety and investing in transit...
Heavy snow for the Coquihalla
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A strong, moist southwesterly flow is going to make travel on the Coquihalla Highway a challenge. The weather system will bring a mix of rain and two to four centimetres of wet snow to the summit this afternoon, Feb. 2, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada. “As freezing levels...
Heavy snow making travel to and from Vancouver or Alberta challenging
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – More heavy snow tonight will continue to make road travel out of the Thompson-Okanagan a challenge. The latest special weather statement from Environment says a Pacific frontal system over the B.C. Interior continues to produce snow today, Jan. 18. Forecasters expect up to another 10 centimetres of snow to fall on the Trans...
More snow is on its way; heavy snow for mountain passes
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The forecasters at Environment Canada are predicting heavy snow for mountain passes on the Coquihalla and the Hope-Princeton highways. The 20 to 30 centimetres of snow will start to fall late Saturday and continue overnight into Sunday, according to a Special Weather Statement. “A warm front will bring copious amounts of moisture to...
UPDATE: Semi fire on the Coquihalla
MERRITT – A tractor trailer loaded with lumber caught fire this morning Jan. 12 on the Coquihalla Highway south of Merritt. The semi was driving southbound at the Comstock exit when it started on fire, according to a tweet from VSA Highway Maintenance. The southbound lanes were closed for a couple hours until the burnt...
One person injured in Okanagan Connector rollover
MERRITT – A rollover early Saturday morning on the Okanagan Connector sent one person to hospital. The crash happened at around 5 a.m. at the junction of 97C and the Coquihalla about 25 kilometres east of Merritt, according to VSA Highway Maintenance. The B.C. Ambulance Service says one patient was taken by ambulance to hospital....
Winter storm developing this weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A winter storm set to hit the Southern Interior by Sunday could bring snowfall in excess of 25 centimetres at highway passes and could see snow turn to freezing rain in town. Friday morning Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for much of the Central and Southern Interior, including the Coquihalla Highway,...
Vehicle fire on Coquihalla
KAMLOOPS – No word from RCMP on the cause of a vehicle fire on the Coquihalla Highway Saturday morning. Traffic was blocked between Kamloops and Merritt at around 9 a.m., as police let the vehicle burn itself out. RCMP haven’t said if anyone was hurt in the blaze. The highway has reopened to traffic with...
Driving mountain passes a challenge; heavy snow falling
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The meteorologists at Environment Canada are predicting a dump of snow on the mountain passes Saturday making the drive to and from the Thompson-Okanagan a challenge this weekend. A disturbance moving south from the northwest is responsible for the heavy snow, according to a special weather statement issued Saturday morning. The Okanagan Connector,...
UDPATE: Coquihalla reopened; delays near Lytton
ROCK SLIDE ON HIGHWAY 1 NEAR LYTTON THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Traffic appars to be moving smoothly on Highway 5 this morning, though travellers on Highway 1 near Lytton should still expect delays. Last night, travellers to and from Vancouver were told to expect major delays after a serious accident closed Highway 5 for several hours due...
More heavy snow expected for mountain passes
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A special weather statement has been issued by Environment Canada as the forecast calls for heavy snow in the mountain passes heading to the Lower Mainland this weekend. Meteorologists say the heavy snow overnight Saturday turned to a few flurries as the front moved eastward, but more snow is on the way. A...
Bald tires cause Coq crash
KAMLOOPS - Heavy rains created the conditions for the driver of a Ford Mustang to hydroplane on the highway, causing a crash that sent three people to hospital Thursday evening. Staff Sgt. Doug Aird says a 2011 Ford Mustang was driving in the northbound slow lane near the Inks Lake turn on the Coquihalla Highway....