7: Coquihalla chaos

Castanet is counting down the top stories of 2018.

We’ll count down to the year’s No. 1 story on Dec. 31 and publish the newsmaker on New Year’s Day.

Our No. 7 story of 2018 – Mayhem on the Coquihalla.

The winter of 2018 was a particularly bad one for motorists driving – or attempting to drive – the Coquihalla Highway.

Snow in the mountains is nothing new in B.C., but a week-long stretch last February was like the worst episode of Highway Through Hell, with multiple crashes and closures.

A major crash involving two buses and several semis forced the highway to be shut down for seven hours on Feb. 25 – and that was just one of more than 20 shutdowns last winter, the most in a decade.

The snow started early and fell often. Things got so bad that the province has now taken steps to ensure better safety on the Coq.

According to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, last winter, 33 of 35 extended closures on the Coquihalla involved commercial vehicles, and in most cases this was due to truck drivers either poorly installing chains or not using them at all.

All commercial vehicles are now restricted to the centre and right lanes in both directions on Snowshed Hill, between Box Canyon and Zopkios, as of this fall. The idea is to keep the far left lane clear for snowplows and emergency vehicles in the event of a crash, as well as to maintain general traffic flow if trucks slow down.

"The Coquihalla Highway ... travels through some incredibly challenging terrain and some incredibly challenging weather," said ministry spokesperson Mike Lorimer.

He said Snowshed Hill is "often where you're going from the rain of the Lower Mainland to the snow of the Interior, so you hit the steepest hill at the worst possible conditions."

The ministry has also implemented several measures to improve highway safety and reliability and reduce closures, including:

• Extending winter tire regulations to April 30 on mountain passes and rural highways.
• Enhancing road maintenance contractor monitoring and auditing.
• Introducing the No Trucks in the Left Lane pilot on the Coquihalla’s Snowshed Hill.
• Enhancing chain-up regulations.

This winter, the ministry reminds travellers to be prepared before heading out and to make sure your vehicle has proper winter tires and a recent maintenance check, fill the windshield washer and the gas tank, stock a winter survival kit, and clear all ice and snow from wipers, mirrors, hood and roof. 

Check DriveBC and Castanet for the latest advisories and always drive according to conditions.