Province closes Highway 1 east of Chilliwack while advising motorists against travel through the Fraser Valley
CHILLIWACK — In a rare move, the province’s Ministry of Transportation and Transit is advising people to avoid all non-essential travel through the Fraser Valley as heavy rain continues to pour over the region.
The travel advisory was issued on Wednesday (Dec. 10), saying Highway 1 and other provincial routes could close with little or no notice as water levels across the region continued to rise. A short time after releasing the advisory, the province closed Highway 1 east of Chilliwack.
According to a social media post from DriveBC, eastbound lanes of Highway 1 are closed between Bridal Falls at Highway 9 and Hope due to flooding. It says there is no eastbound access to Hope from the Fraser Valley. In addition, the Coquihalla Highway has been closed north of Hope due to flooding at Sowaqua, blocking all travel between Hope and Merritt.
Ministry staff and maintenance contractors are stepping up monitoring activities. Traffic control crews have been placed on stand-by if a shutdown of highways becomes necessary.
