Coquihalla Road Conditions Highway 5 & 97C

Coquihalla Summit (el. 1244 m.) is a highway summit along the Coquihalla Highway in British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point on the highway between the cities of Hope and Merritt. It is located just south of the former toll booth plaza on the Coquihalla Highway, about 50 km north of Hope, and 65 km south of Merritt and is the divide between the Coquihalla River and the Coldwater River.

The ascent to the Coquihalla Summit is very steep, especially from the south. The ascent is particularly steep after passing northbound through the Great Bear snow shed.

Highway 5 begins in the south at its junction with Highway 3 at an uninhabited location known as "Othello," 7 km (4 mi) east of Hope (named after a nearby siding on the Kettle Valley Railway, which used many Shakespearean names). The exit numbers on the Coquihalla are a continuation of those on Highway 1 west of Hope. 35 km (22 mi) north of Othello, after passing through five interchanges, Highway 5 reaches the Great Bear snow shed, which is a landmark on the route. 13 km (8 mi) north of the snow shed, after passing through another interchange and the 1244 m (4,147 ft) Coquihalla Pass, Highway 5 reaches the former toll booth; it was the only highway in British Columbia to have tolls. The toll for a typical passenger vehicle on the highway was C$10. 61 km (38 mi) and five interchanges later, the Coquihalla enters the city of Merritt at its south junction with Highway 5A and Highway 97C.

This diagram illustrates the wrong-way concurrency between Highways 5 and 97 through Kamloops. Highway 5 then goes 4 km (2½ mi) through the eastern area of Merritt before reaching its northern junction with Highway 5A. The Coquihalla has three more interchanges and one mountain pass, the Clapperton Creek Summit, in its remaining 72 km (45 mi) between Merritt and its end at a junction with Highways 1 and 97 within the Afton area of Kamloops. Highway 5 continues east for 7 km (4 mi) concurrent with Highways 1 and 97 through Kamloops. This stretch of road, which carries 97 South and 5 North on the same lanes (and vice versa), is the only other wrong-way concurrency in British Columbia, along with 99 North and 12 South, near the town of Lillooet.

After separating from Highways 1 and 97, Highway 5 proceeds north for approximately 19 km (12 mi), temporarily leaving Kamloops city limits as a four-lane highway, before re-entering the city at the Rayleigh community and continuing north. It becomes a two-lane highway at Heffley Creek and the exit to Sun Peaks resorts, both of which indicate the final northern boundary of Kamloops.

Highway 5 follows the North Thompson River north from Heffley Creek for approximately 54 km (34 mi), along a parallel course with a branch of the Canadian National Railway, passing through Barriere, to a junction with Highway 24 at Little Fort. 30 km (19 mi) north of Little Fort, while continuing to follow the North Thompson and the CN Railway, Highway 5 reaches the community of Clearwater. It proceeds northeast for another 107 km (67 mi), passing Vavenby en route, to the community of Blue River, and then 109 km (68 mi) further north through the Columbia Mountains, passing by the community of Valemount to its northern terminus at Tête Jaune Cache, where it meets Highway 16.

Highway 97C begins near Trepanier, at a location on Highway 97 known as Drought Hill. The section of Highway 97C east of Merritt is mostly freeway, with a speed limit of 110 km/h (68 mph) and between 4 and 6 lanes, and has very few exits along its route. Its highest altitude is the Pennask Summit (1728 m, 5760 ft, above sea level). Highway 97C travels on this freeway 82 km (51 mi) northwest to Aspen Grove, where it converges with Highway 5A.

Highways 97C and 5A share the 28 km (17 mi) long route between Aspen Grove and Lower Nicola, where Highway 5A diverges immediately east and Highway 8 begins.

North of the Highway 8 junction, Highway 97C goes north for 42 km (26 mi) to Logan Lake, then northwest for 57 km (35 mi) to Ashcroft on the Canadian National Railway. Highway 97C then travels 6 km (4 mi) west from Ashcroft to where it converges with Highway 1, which takes Highway 97C north for its final 5 km (3 mi) to its end at Highway 97 in Cache Creek