‘Extensive damage’ to B.C.’s Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton, as latest storm cuts power
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The B.C. government says it’s uncertain when a stretch of a major highway will reopen after last week’s atmospheric river rainfall event destroyed and damaged culverts and washed away a portion of the roadway.
The Ministry of Transportation said Wednesday that 22 locations along Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton were damaged, including 11 sites where the damage was “extensive.”
“The damage includes five culvert failures resulting in partial road washouts,” the ministry statement said. “These sites require excavation and full culvert replacement.”
The highway functions as one of the major routes between B.C.’s South Coast and Okanagan region.
The ministry also said that another site discovered Tuesday suffered a blocked culvert, and water has “undermined and washed away a portion of the highway and roadside barrier.”
“The damage at the new site is substantial but cannot be fully assessed until slope conditions stabilize and crews have safe access,” the update said.
B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation says 22 locations along Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton were damaged by washouts during an atmospheric river in B.C. in December 2025. (B.C. Ministry of Transporation)
The repairs have been further challenged by ongoing harsh weather, with a snowfall warning in effect Wednesday due to a system that also brought heavy rain and high winds across southern B.C.
Thousands of people across the province lost power Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, as gusts exceeding 100 km/h in some communities brought down trees and power lines.
Without lights, some schools were forced to cancel classes for the day on Wednesday, including schools in Kootenay-Columbia, Kootenay Lake and the Lower Mainland.
And in Fernie, the city’s wastewater system was once again brought close to critical capacity, with emergency discharge of sewage set up in order to avoid catastrophic failure and residents asked to avoid non-essential water use.
Environment Canada said the weather woes continued in the Interior, where a number of highways have been affected by heavy snowfall or winter storm conditions, in addition to the stretch of Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton.
Winter storm warnings have been posted for Highway 1 from Sicamous to Golden and Highway 3 from Grand Forks to Creston, where up to 30 centimetres of snow was expected Wednesday.
