After the Nov. 14 flooding and washouts, the Coquihalla Highway reopened between Hope and Merritt to essential commercial vehicles on Dec. 20.

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Drone footage recorded the day before the Coquihalla Highway opened between Merritt and Hope captured the magnitude of the work involved to get commercial traffic rolling again following a month of repairs due to flooding and washout.

The footage is of the work on Highway 5 near Murray Flats and shows parked paving trucks waiting their turn at two paving sites on Dec. 19.

The Coquihalla was first closed by multiple washouts on Nov. 14.

Over 300 workers using 200 pieces of equipment moved more than 400,000 cubic metres of gravel, rock, and other material to repair and reopen the highway in just 35 days, the province said.

The flooding event damaged over 20 sites along 130 kilometres of the route between Hope and Merritt, including seven bridges that were partially collapsed or heavily damaged.

Repairs to the highway are temporary, however, and plans for permanent repairs to the damaged section of Highway 5 are underway.

READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Coquihalla Highway reopens to essential commercial traffic today

“The people who build and maintain roads in B.C. have a reputation second to none, and their response to the recent disaster has been remarkable,” said Rob Fleming, minister of transportation and infrastructure in a media release.

“Ministry teams, maintenance contractors and hundreds of workers going flat out in challenging conditions have allowed us to reopen the Coquihalla Highway today, giving B.C.’s commercial drivers a safe, efficient route between the coast and Interior.”

While the Coquihalla is open to essential commercial traffic only, the ministry of transportation and infrastructure is urging drivers to remember this is not the highway they once knew.

There are speed restrictions, width restrictions and possible stoppages as construction crews continue work.

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