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The Coquihalla Highway has fully reopened in both directions north of Merritt after multiple crashes forced a closure Sunday afternoon.
DriveBC says traffic is now moving again along Highway 5, though motorists should expect delays as backed-up traffic clears.
In a statement Sunday, Merritt RCMP said they received a number of reports of motor vehicle collisions about five kilometres south of the Helmer Road exit.
Police said the highway was closed between Merritt and Kamloops because of unsafe road conditions following multiple crashes.
B.C. Emergency Health Services said it responded to a motor vehicle incident along the highway at 1:21 p.m. Sunday.
Four ambulances were dispatched, and three patients were treated at the scene and taken to hospital, though BCEHS did not provide details about their condition.
Drivers also reported long delays during the closure.
A snow-covered vehicle sits damaged on the side of the highway following a crash on Sunday afternoon. (Submitted)
Amanda Horner, who was travelling northbound between Merritt and Kamloops with her husband and young children, said her family was stuck in traffic for more than three hours.
“We have hit all kinds of weather,” Horner said. “[It’s] snowing hard and roads were slick and deep.”
She said conditions changed quickly along the route, with drivers encountering rain, slush and ice farther north.
Heavy snow falls over a line of stopped vehicles on the Coquihalla Highway. (Submitted by Amanda Horner)
Horner said northbound traffic eventually began moving after truck drivers pulled their vehicles aside to allow smaller vehicles through.
Earlier Sunday morning, Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a special weather statement for parts of B.C., including the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Kamloops.
The agency warned strong southwesterly winds and changing winter conditions could affect travel along the highway.
A multi-vehicle crash has closed the Coquihalla Highway between Kamloops and Merritt. (Submitted)
