Highway 1 re-opened
Posted Jun 30, 2011 10:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) – Crews have fully re-opened Highway 1 between Chilliwack and Hope.
The route was blocked by a mudslide yesterday morning, and was only open to westbound traffic for the morning commute.
News1130 was the first to report eastbound traffic was re-opened at about 10:15 a.m.
Kurt Edmonds with the Transportation Ministry credits the work of road crews who’ve been working throughout the night. “[They] threw every bit of equipment they could at the problem and they ran crews around the clock. They had flood lights working all night long. It was a non-stop operation.”
Originally, they expected the road to stay closed until 1 p.m.
Throughout yesterday and this morning, drivers caught in massive delays have been coming face to face with the unexpected:
“I was driving along and was like, ‘Okay, how long before I really need fuel?’ I was low on fuel at that time!” says one man.
Traffic was being re-routed via Highways 9 and 7 with some very long delays. It was a busy night for one clerk at the Popkum Country Market who says drivers have been dealt delays that have turned 30 mintues in the car into three-hour tours.
“It was totally unexpected here,” she says. “A girl who got off at 3 p.m., she lives in Hope. Who knows how long it could have taken her — she ended up staying upstairs last night.”
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