Highway 3 connecting Hope and Princeton in the British Columbia Interior has been reopened on Christmas Day, following detours, after heavy flood damage had initially led officials to predict weeks of closures. The provincial Ministry of Transportation announced on December 19 that a 50-meter segment of the highway had been washed out due to heavy rain earlier that week, indicating that restoring a single lane would be a time-consuming process.
Through continuous efforts by repair crews, the highway has now reopened to single-lane traffic with alternating directions on a temporary detour. The speed limit on this detour has been set at 30 km/h. Drivers heading west on Highway 3 towards Hope will be stopped approximately 500 meters east of the site to prevent lineups in an avalanche-prone area where stopping is prohibited, as per the ministry’s instructions.
Commercial vehicles have been advised to take alternative routes between the Lower Mainland and the B.C. Interior until both lanes on Highway 3 are fully restored. The ministry highlighted that extensive design and reconstruction work will be necessary to complete permanent repairs, thereby indicating that the temporary detour will be in place until then. Access to the temporary detour may be limited to passenger vehicles depending on the prevailing conditions.
Travel between the B.C. Interior and the Lower Mainland can still be facilitated using a detour via the Coquihalla Highway (Highway 5), despite recent incidents of crashes and travel advisories due to snowfall. Several highways in the Lower Mainland and the B.C. Interior, including Highway 3 and Highway 5, faced closures due to widespread flooding in early December, with Highway 3 experiencing a notably prolonged shutdown.
The reopening of Highway 3 is crucial for the Princeton community and Manning Park Resort, both reliant on the route for access to the Lower Mainland. The province has recommended that drivers refer to www.DriveBC.ca for the latest updates on the road conditions.