Travellers along Highway 8 between Spences Bridge and Merritt should be prepared for daytime closures of the highway between April 16 and 25, to facilitate rock works above the road.
Closures of up to 45 minutes will occur over the course of four-hour time windows (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) on the following dates:
Wednesday, April 16
Wednesday, April 23
Thursday, April 24
Friday, April 25
There will be no closures from Thursday, April 17 through Tuesday, April 22 to accommodate Easter long weekend traffic.
Multiple 45-minute closures may occur during each four-hour time frame, with traffic queued immediately east and west of the project site. After each closure, traffic queues will be released, and the highway will remain open for a minimum of 15 minutes before a subsequent closure can occur. Emergency vehicles will be provided with access through the site during the closures.
Travellers are encouraged to visit www.drivebc.ca prior to travelling to get real-time updates related to the closures. Travellers can also call 1-855-425-9416 for up-to-date information about traffic impacts along Highway 8.
The rock works are part of the ongoing Highway 8 Reinstatement project. During the atmospheric river that battered southern B.C. in November 2021, heavy rainfall and the flooding of the Nicola River severely damaged — and in some areas obliterated — 24 sections of the highway and associated infrastructure; 45 kilometres of the highway were impacted, and seven kilometres were completely lost.
One person was killed in the flooding, which destroyed homes, outbuildings, and properties. In August 2022, washouts along the highway damaged another five sites, and access to properties for residents along the corridor was not completed until September 2022.
In the wake of the flooding, the province stated that repair work to two other hard-hit highways — the Coquihalla (Highway 5) and Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon — was the priority. Temporary repairs — including the construction of two single-lane bridges — allowed Highway 8 to fully reopen to traffic 361 days after it was closed, albeit with reduced speed limits, and with varying surfaces and single-lane traffic only in some areas. Because of this, the highway has not been able to be used as a detour if there are closures on Highways 1 or 5.
Work on permanent repairs to the highway has been ongoing since early 2024, with work at five sites now complete. A further seven sites are now under construction, with 12 sites still in the design stage.
The current construction work is being undertaken at sites 4 through 11, which are between 12 and 25 kilometres east of Spences Bridge. Site 11 is closest to the Bridge (12 kilometres distant), and permanent repairs began there in February. Work will include building permanent road and drainage infrastructure, such as installing large rock armouring (riprap) to improve the resiliency of the highway. In-stream work in the Nicola River will take place in the spring, when low water levels reduce the impact of construction work on aquatic habitat.
Permanent construction at sites 9 and 10 (14 to 15.3 kilometres east of Spences Bridge) also began in February. The project includes replacing the two temporary single-lane alternating bridges with two permanent two-lane bridges, and building approximately three kilometres of highway to connect the bridges. Overhead power and utility poles will be relocated, and a snake culvert and fencing will be installed.
Water will be needed at various sites to reduce dust on temporary gravel roads, cure concrete, and more. To protect water quality and aquatic habitat, and address concerns about drought conditions, sites will avoid using water from the Nicola River, and will instead draw from the Thompson River and Nicola Lake at locations that have been selected based on drought risk assessments.
Strategies will also be used to reduce water use, such as scheduling road grading before summer and using other products, such as magnesium chloride, to reduce dust. Regular environmental monitoring will take place.
