Drivers are advised that Highway 8 between Spences Bridge and Merritt will be closed to through traffic from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day from Monday, June 9 through Friday, June 27.
The closures are to facilitate road widening and realignment at sites 9 and 10, which are approximately 15 kilometres east of Spences Bridge. Drainage culverts are also being installed at the sites.
Although the highway will be closed to through traffic between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m., it will open at 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. each day to flush traffic. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit is working with emergency services to ensure access through the sites during the closures.
The work is 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.
Highway 8 fully reopened to traffic in November 2022, some 361 days after it was closed, albeit with reduced speed limits, and with varying surfaces and single-lane traffic only in some areas. Single-lane alternating bridges are currently in place at sites 9 and 10.
Work on permanent repairs to the highway has been ongoing since early 2024, with work at five sites now complete. A further eight sites are now under construction, with 11 sites still in the design stage. Because the highway is still an active construction zone, it is not used as a detour route if there are closures on Highways 1 or 5.
Piling activities, involving placing large posts in the ground to support the foundations of the two new bridge structures at sites 9 and 10, started in mid-April, with the building of retaining walls along the existing highway route. A snake culvert at site 10B was successfully installed at the end of April, to allow snakes and other wildlife to safely cross under the highway.
For up-to-date information about closures along Highway 8, and other highways in the province, go to www.drivebc.ca. For information about the work being done along Highway 8, go to gov.bc.ca/highway8recovery, call 1-855-425-9416, or email highway8.information@gov.bc.ca.
