Highway 5 (Coquihalla) Road Conditions in British Columbia

11 current reports along the route. The 7 most serious are listed below. Always check with DriveBC before setting off.

• Lanes blocked

  Road work on Highway 5

  Construction work from Highway 5, At Exit 250 to Larson Hill to At Exit 256 to Coldwater Road. Starting Tue Aug 25. Left lane closed in both directions. Expect delays. Last update: September 5th, 2026 at 6:32pm PDT. 24/7 construction. Please obey signage, slow down and watch for roadside workers.

  Thompson-Nicola District • Both directions • BC • Ongoing Details

• Restriction

  Road work on Highway 5, Avola Overhead Bridge to Blue River Bridge

  Highway 5. Mowing between Avola Overhead Bridge and Blue River Bridge for 40.2 km (Avola to Blue River). From 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM PDT on weekdays. Watch for traffic control. Last updated Mon Sep 14 at 12:18 PM PDT. (DBC-94179)

  Avola Overhead Bridge to Blue River Bridge • BC • Ongoing Details

• Restriction

  Road work on Highway 5, Miledge Creek Bridge to Thunder River Rd

  Highway 5, southbound. Construction work between Miledge Creek Bridge and Thunder River Rd for 4.9 km (17 to 12 km north of Blue River). Until Sat Nov 7 at 5:00 PM PST. From 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST on weekdays. Watch for traffic control. Single Lane Alternating Traffic will only be required for a brief duration during mobilization and demobilization of materials and equipment. Last updated Mon Jan 26 at 10:10 AM PST. (DBC-82106)

  Miledge Creek Bridge to Thunder River Rd • Southbound • BC • Ongoing Details

• Restriction

  Road work on Highway 5, Avola Overhead Bridge

  Highway 5. Bridge maintenance between Avola Overhead Bridge and Avola Bridge (Avola). From 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM PDT on weekdays. Single lane alternating traffic. Watch for traffic control. Last updated Mon Sep 14 at 12:22 PM PDT. (DBC-94180)

  Avola Overhead Bridge • BC • Ongoing Details

• Restriction

  Road work on Highway 5, at Six Mile/HWY 5 Bridge

  Highway 5, in both directions. Bridge construction at Six Mile/HWY 5 Bridge (10 km south of Blue River). Until Fri Nov 27. Single lane alternating traffic. Watch for traffic control. Lane width reduction to 3.8 m wide lane, with a max 4.4m width including overhang. In addition, a maximum weight, restriction of 85T. Last updated Mon Sep 14 at 4:05 PM PDT. (DBC-92573)

  at Six Mile/HWY 5 Bridge • Both directions • BC • Until Nov 28, 7:59 AM Details

• Restriction

  Road work on Highway 5, at Wire Cache Rest Area

  Highway 5, in both directions. Maintenance planned at Wire Cache Rest Area (14 km south of Avola). Starting Mon Sep 21 at 6:00 AM PDT until Sun Sep 27 at 6:00 PM PDT. From 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM PDT on weekdays. Single lane alternating traffic will be in effect. Watch for traffic control personnel. Last updated Tue Sep 1 at 9:53 AM PDT. (DBC-94086)

  at Wire Cache Rest Area • Both directions • BC • Ongoing Details

• Restriction

  Road work on Highway 5, Henning Creek Bridge

  Paving operations. Starting Tue Aug 11 until Wed Sep 30. From 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM PDT, Monday to Saturday. Watch for traffic control. Possible delays of up to 20 minutes.

  Henning Creek Bridge • Both directions • BC • Until Oct 1, 3:00 AM Details

Winter tire and chain requirements on Highway 5

Highway 5 is a designated winter tire and chain route. Winter tires are required on it every year from October 1 to April 30, whatever the forecast on the day: a legal winter tire in BC carries either the letters M and S (mud and snow, the legal minimum, which includes many all-season tires) or the three-peaked mountain and snowflake symbol, and has at least 3.5 mm of tread. The province notes that mountain-snowflake tires grip better on snow and ice. Passenger vehicles may add chains or other traction devices to their winter tires; chains alone are not a substitute for them.

Commercial vehicles between 5,000 and 11,794 kg licensed GVW must carry chains or traction devices, or run winter-rated tires; vehicles of 11,794 kg and over must carry steel chains on most major highways from October 1 to April 30 and install them where the chain-up signs say so. Not carrying chains where required is a $196 fine; driving past an active chain-up area is $598.

The full rule, the fines and the exceptions are on the British Columbia page. Source: gov.bc.ca, Tire and Chain Requirements, checked September 8, 2026. What is in force today — a chain-up, a closure — is on DriveBC ↗.

Segments and what to expect

Highway 5 is not one road in winter but seven, and the names below are the ones drivers and DriveBC use for them. The elevations are the province's own, from its cameras at the places named.

1. Hope to Othello to 192 m

   The valley floor: the first ten kilometres out of Hope along the Coquihalla River, where rain at Othello (192 m at the DriveBC camera) is already snow a few hundred metres higher.

2. Othello to Box Canyon 192 m → 849 m

   The climb up the canyon past Portia (635 m) to Box Canyon (849 m). The Sowaqua chain-up area is here, and it is where the RCMP check winter tires and order chains on in a storm.

3. Snowshed Hill: Box Canyon to Zopkios 849 m → 1,208 m

   The Great Bear Snowshed (980 m) and the 8% grade above it to the Zopkios Brake Check (1,208 m) — the steepest part of the road, where trucks lose it on the way down and the highway closes for the crash rather than for the snow.

4. Zopkios to Coquihalla Summit 1,208 m → 1,244 m

   Seven kilometres of high plateau to the summit at 1,244 m and the Coquihalla Lakes: the coldest, windiest part of the road, where drifting snow closes lanes.

5. Coquihalla Summit to Merritt from 1,244 m

   The long descent past Larson Hill (1,025 m) and Comstock (990 m) into the dry Nicola Valley at Merritt, where the snow usually stops.

6. Merritt to Kamloops to 1,444 m

   87 km over Surrey Lake Summit at 1,444 m — 200 m higher than the Coquihalla Summit itself and less known — past Helmer Lake (1,385 m) before the drop to Kamloops.

7. Kamloops to Tête Jaune Cache to 701 m

   The Southern Yellowhead: two lanes up the North Thompson through Clearwater and Blue River, over Messiter Summit (701 m), the snowiest valley on the whole road, to the Highway 16 junction.

Passes and summits on Highway 5

The places on this road that are a different drive from the valleys either side: each has its own page with the summit readings, the six-day forecast and the rule in force there.

• Coquihalla Summit weather — 1,244 m

Closures that have shaped Highway 5

Not a log of every hour DriveBC has shut a lane — the events that say what kind of road this is, each with the source it comes from.

• 22 December 2025 – 23 December 2025

  Closed overnight between Hope and Merritt from about 9:30 p.m. on 22 December 2025 after multiple vehicle incidents just north of the summit in heavy snow; reopened the next morning under a travel advisory, with 10 to 15 cm more forecast for Christmas Eve. Source: CFJC Today, 23 December 2025.

• 3 March 2023 – 4 March 2023

  Closed between Hope and Merritt on 3 March 2023 after more than 70 cm of snow in 48 hours, with more overnight; the ministry sent traffic to Highways 1 and 3 and warned of significant delays on both. Source: BC Gov News, 3 March 2023.

• 14 November 2021 – 19 January 2022

  The atmospheric river of 14 November 2021 damaged more than 20 sites along 130 km between Hope and Merritt, including seven bridges whose spans collapsed. Commercial traffic was allowed back on 20 December 2021 and all traffic on 19 January 2022, on temporary repairs that made Hope to Merritt about 45 minutes slower; the last permanent bridge was finished in October 2023. Source: BC Gov News, 18 January 2022; more ↗.

Alternate routes when Highway 5 is closed

• If Hope to Kamloops is closed: Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon — about 1 h 30 min longer than the direct road when both are open, 279 km against 205 km. Two lanes up the Fraser and Thompson canyons through Lytton and Cache Creek. It carries the traffic when the Coquihalla is shut, so allow for the queue as well as the distance.
• If Hope to Merritt is closed: Highway 3 over Allison Pass, then 5A from Princeton — about 1 h 45 min longer than the direct road when both are open, 225 km against 123 km. Over Allison Pass and Sunday Summit to Princeton, then Highway 5A up the Nicola Valley. The same storm that closes the Coquihalla is usually on Allison Pass too, so check Highway 3 before committing.

Distances and times are measured over openrouteservice on a clear road; a closure day is not one, because the detour carries the closed road's traffic too. What is closed right now is on DriveBC ↗.

Related roads

Highway 5 Winter Driving FAQ

How long does the Coquihalla take from Hope to Kamloops?

About two hours on a clear road: 205 km of freeway, measured over openrouteservice, with the climb to the 1,244 m summit in the first 45 km. In snow, allow for a slower Snowshed Hill and for the chance of a closure between Hope and Merritt, which is where nearly every one happens.

Is Highway 5 a designated winter tire route?

Yes, the whole of it. From October 1 to April 30 a passenger vehicle on the Coquihalla needs winter tires — M+S or the mountain-snowflake symbol, at least 3.5 mm of tread — and a commercial vehicle over 11,794 kg must carry steel chains and put them on where the chain-up signs say so. The RCMP check at the Sowaqua chain-up and turn cars back.

What is the alternative when the Coquihalla is closed?

Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon for Kamloops — about 1 h 30 min longer when both roads are open, 279 km against 205 — or Highway 3 over Allison Pass and Highway 5A from Princeton for Merritt, about 1 h 45 min longer. Both are two-lane mountain roads carrying the Coquihalla's traffic on the day, so the real difference is larger.

Where on Highway 5 does it snow most?

Between Box Canyon and the Coquihalla Summit, the 25 km that climb from 850 m to 1,244 m and face the Pacific storms first; the March 2023 closure followed 70 cm there in 48 hours. North of the summit the road drops into the dry Nicola Valley at Merritt, where the snow usually stops, and climbs again to Surrey Lake Summit at 1,444 m before Kamloops.

Is the Coquihalla still damaged from the 2021 floods?

No. The atmospheric river of 14 November 2021 destroyed more than 20 sites and seven bridges between Hope and Merritt; the road reopened to cars on 19 January 2022 on temporary structures, and the last permanent bridge was finished in October 2023. The speed limits and lane patterns of the repair years are gone.