British Columbia Highway 5


Highway 5 is a north-south route in southern British Columbia, Canada. Highway 5 connects the southern Trans-Canada route with the northern Trans-Canada/Yellowhead route, providing the shortest land connection between Vancouver and both Edmonton and Calgary. Despite the entire route being signed as part of the Yellowhead Highway, the portion of Highway 5 south of Kamloops is also known as the Coquihalla Highway while the northern portion is known as the Southern Yellowhead Highway. The Coquihalla section was a toll road until 2008.
Although the Yellowhead Highway system is considered part of the Trans-Canada Highway network, the Highway 5 segment is not marked as such. However, Highway 5 is designated as a core route of Canada's National Highway System.

Route description

Overview

Highway 5 begins south at the junction with Crowsnest Highway at uninhabited Othello, east of Hope. Exit numbers on the Coquihalla are a continuation of those on Highway 1 west of Hope. north of Othello, after passing through five interchanges, Highway 5 reaches the landmark Great Bear snow shed. The location of the former toll booth is north of the snow shed, passing through another interchange and the
Coquihalla Pass. Highway 5 was the only highway in British Columbia to have tolls; a typical passenger vehicle toll was C$10. Now free to drive, at the Coquihalla Lakes junction, the highway crosses from the Fraser Valley Regional District into the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. and five interchanges north of the former toll plaza, the Coquihalla enters the city of Merritt. There it joins Highway 5A and Highway 97C.
Image:Wrongway-multiplex.png|thumb|This diagram illustrates the wrong-way concurrency between Highways 5 and 97 through Kamloops. ​
Highway 5 travels through the eastern area of Merritt before reaching its northern junction with Highway 5A. From there, the Coquihalla has three more interchanges and one mountain pass – the Surrey Lake Summit – in the between Merritt and its end at a junction with Highways 1 and 97. Highway 5 continues east for concurrently with Highways 1 and 97, through Kamloops. This stretch of road, which carries 97 South and 5 North on the same lanes, is the only wrong-way concurrency in British Columbia.
After separating from Highways 1 and 97, Highway 5 proceeds north for approximately, temporarily leaving Kamloops city limits as a four-lane highway, before re-entering the city at the Rayleigh community, then continuing north. It becomes a two-lane highway at Heffley Creek and the exit to Sun Peaks resorts, both of which indicate the final northern boundary of Kamloops.
Highway 5 follows the North Thompson River north from Heffley Creek for approximately, along a parallel course with a branch of the Canadian National Railway, passing through Barriere, to a junction with Highway 24 at Little Fort. north of Little Fort, while continuing to follow the North Thompson and the CN Railway, Highway 5 then reaches the community of Clearwater. It proceeds northeast for another, passing Vavenby and Avola en route to the community of Blue River; then further north through the Columbia Mountains, it crosses into the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, passing by the community of Valemount to its northern terminus at Tête Jaune Cache, where it meets Highway 16.

Coquihalla Highway

South of Kamloops, Highway 5 is known as the Coquihalla Highway, of freeway, varying between four and six lanes with a posted speed limit of. The Coquihalla approximately traces through the Cascade Mountains the route of the former Kettle Valley Railway, which existed between 1912 and 1958. It is so-named because near Hope, it generally follows the Coquihalla River, for about, and uses the Coquihalla Pass.
Signs along the Coquihalla Highway frequently warn drivers to be aware of sudden changes in weather. The highway is particularly dangerous during winter seasons, with extreme snowfall that can exceed more than per hour. While road maintenance strives to keep the roads as clear as possible, it is not unheard of for the highway to shut down, sometimes with travellers forced to stay overnight in their cars.
According to ICBC there were 32 fatal crashes between 2004 and 2013, and an estimated 400-500 accidents occur during the winter seasons. Global News listed the stretch between Merritt and Hope as one of the deadliest highways in BC. DriveBC keeps up to date with reports on Coquihalla Highway conditions, including live webcams in several locations.

History

The current Highway 5 is not the first highway in B.C. to have this designation. From 1941 to 1953, the section of present-day Highway 97, Highway 97A, and Highway 97B, between Kaleden, just south of Penticton, and Salmon Arm, was formerly Highway 5. In 1953, the '5' designation was moved to designate Princeton-Merritt-Kamloops Highway to north of Kamloops; by 1960 Highway 5 was extended north to Tête Jaune Cache and subsequently paved. In 1970, Highway 5 between Kamloops and Tête Jaune Cache was designated as the South Yellowhead Highway and signed with the Yellowhead Highway shield, while the section south of Kamloops was still signed with the standard British Columbia highway shield.
In the 1960s, the Merritt Board of Trade began lobbying the B.C. government for a new highway route to Hope, including a vehicle caravan that was staged eight times starting in 1963, over the abandoned Kettle Valley Railway grade, in order draw attention to the potential of this route. Surveying commenced in 1973 and in 1979 the first construction contract was issued for section of highway between Nicolum Creek and Peers Creek near Hope; however, work progressed slowly until 1984 when Premier Bill Bennett announced that the project would be fast-tracked so it could be completed to coincide with Expo 86. To ensure the project was completed on time, more than 10,000 people were needed to fill all of the jobs and more than 1,000 pieces of heavy equipment worked non-stop every day during the summer of 1985 to get it done. The project was divided into three phases, with Phase 1 being the section between Hope and Merritt, Phase 2 being the section between Merritt and Kamloops, and Phase 3 being a branch between Merritt and Peachland, south of Kelowna. In order to offset the cost of fast-tracking construction, Phase 1 was made a toll highway, with a toll plaza constructed at the summit of Coquihalla Pass; was designed to accommodate 13 toll booths for 14 lanes of traffic.
On May 16, 1986, Phase 1 was officially opened and Highway 5 was re-routed between Hope and Merritt. The opening celebrations featured a ceremony in Hope followed by a convoy led the Premier in an open air convertible that smashed through paper banners strung across the new highway lanes, stopped at the Coquihalla summit to dedicate a time capsule, and continued to Merritt for further celebrations. The total cost for the highway between Hope and Merritt was approximately $848 million. Phase 2 between Merritt and Kamloops opened in September 1987, re-routing Highway 5, while Phase 3 was opened in October 1990 and designated as Highway 97C. The three phases have been credited with transforming Merritt into an important transportation hub between the coast and interior, as well as significant growth in both Kamloops and the Okanagan due to improved accessibility.
In 2003, Premier Gordon Campbell announced the Liberal government would turn over toll revenue to a private operator, along with responsibility for operation, and maintenance of "the Coq". In response to strong opposition from the public, and numerous businesses, in the Interior of British Columbia, the provincial government shelved the move three months later.
On September 26, 2008, the provincial government permanently lifted the Coquihalla tolls, effective 1:00 pm that day. Subsequently, the toll station and signs were dismantled.
In 2011, the British Columbia government replaced the standard British Columbia Highway 5 shields with Yellowhead Highway 5 shields south of Kamloops, which at the time drew some concern that the Coquihalla Highway would be officially renamed.
Effective July 2, 2014, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure increased the speed limit of Coquihalla Highway from to after conducting an engineering assessment and province-wide speed review.

Exit list

From south to north, the following intersections are observed along Highway 5:

Name

An archived article from the BC government website provides insight on the name Coquihalla: "Kw'ikw'iya:la in the Halq'emeylem language of the, is a place name meaning 'stingy container.' It refers specifically to a fishing rock near the mouth of what is now known as the Coquihalla River. This rock is a good platform for spearing salmon. According to Stó:lō oral history, the skw'exweq who inhabit a pool close by the rock, would swim out and pull the salmon off the spears, allowing only certain fisherman to catch the salmon."
The route is also often referred to simply as "The Coq".

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