Key B.C. highway reopens to truck traffic after severe flood damage

VANCOUVER — A major highway linking Metro Vancouver and southern British Columbia to the rest of the province has reopened about a month after severe flooding damaged the route in several areas.

The B.C. government says in a release the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt reopened just after 8:30 a.m. on Monday to commercial traffic and intercity buses.

Crews have replaced about 20 stretches of the highway including bridges damaged during a storm in mid-November.

Torrential rains and melting snow between Nov. 13 and 15 caused flooding and debris slides through the Fraser Valley and southern Interior.