A year later and work continues to repair the unprecedented damage caused by an atmospheric river that hit highways connecting the southern interior to the coast in mid-November 2021. Huge sections of the Coquihalla, Highway 1 through the Fraser Gorge and Highway 8 washed out on November 14, 2021 in a torrent of water. There were also landslides and evacuations on Highway 99 and Highway 12. Motorists were stranded and some communities were cut off. It also had a significant impact on the supply chain. Transport trucks were stuck waiting to pass. “It was definitely an unprecedented challenge,” says Bison Transport’s Paul Schroeder as he reflects on what it has meant for his business and his drivers. The Coquihalla was closed for weeks, forcing truckers to use the Hope-Princeton Highway, a much slower, narrower route. “It was something none of us expected. It was a game changer, I will say. It disrupted what we do and how we do it in a very short period of time,” Schroeder added. Transportation congestion led to shortages on store shelves throughout the southern interior. A herculean effort by construction crews had made temporary repairs to the Coquihalla until mid-December to allow commercial and emergency vehicles to pass through. It reopened to the general public on January 19 of this year. However, work continues in some of the worst affected areas of the main route between the interior and the Lower Mainland. This caused long delays and congestion during the busy summer months and continues to slow traffic in some areas. “It takes patience from a driving standpoint and from our customers’ standpoint,” says Schroeder. “It takes longer to travel these routes, although they’ve done a really good job of getting it to where it is today.” Highway 8 finally reopened between Merritt and Spences Bridge last week. “I think that’s another thing that we definitely want to celebrate today and going forward, is the work that’s been done on this corridor to get us to the announcement that we’ve been able to make today with our partners is incredible,” said Rob Fleming , BC. Minister of Transport and Infrastructure last Wednesday. He said it is a project that will be studied by engineers and road builders for years and decades. The time it could take to fully rebuild all affected highways and how much it could cost BC taxpayers. it’s anyone’s guess.
