B.C. lifting limits on gas purchases, public safety minister says

Residents of southern British Columbia will soon be able to purchase as much gas at the pump as they want.

In a Monday newsbriefing, B.C. Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said fuel restrictions will lift Tuesday, despite the government's decision to extend the province's current state of emergency due to flooding another two weeks.

A state of emergency was declared on Nov. 17 after days of relentless rain caused fatal landslides and extreme flooding that displaced thousands of people from their homes,destroyed critical highway infrastructure, and temporarily shut down the Trans Mountain pipeline.

On Nov. 19, the provincelimited non-essential vehicles inthe Lower Mainland-to-Hope region, the Sea-to-Sky region, Sunshine Coast, the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island to 30 litres of fuel per trip to the gas station.

Farnworth said that limit will now expire at the end of the day on Dec. 14.

In a statement, the government said this can now be donebecause of thegradual reopening of the pipelineandshipments of fuel to B.C. by truck and barge.

But while gas supplies may be getting back to normal, Farnworth said highways and housing are still in disrepair, and because of the continued need for public safety measures, the provincial state of emergency is being extended until the end of the day on Dec. 28.

"There is still so much work to do to reopen our highways and get people back in their homes," said the minister.

Highway restrictions remain

An order restricting non-essential travel on Highways 3 and 99 will also remain in place.

This includes:

• Highway 3: from the junction of Highway 5 and Highway 3 in Hope to the west entrance to Princeton from Highway 3.
• From the junction of Highway 99 and Lillooet River Road to the B.C. Hydro Seton Lake Campsite access in Lillooet (vehicle weight must be no more than 14 tonnes)

Highway 3 remains one of the few routes connecting the Lower Mainland to the Interior that is open. Highway 5, also known as the Coquihalla, is closed indefinitely after about 20 sites on the highway were damaged, including collapsed bridges.

With the holiday season approaching, Transportation Minister Rob Fleming reminded people to avoid travel between the coast and the rest of the province unless absolutely necessary.

"Stay home and stay local," said Fleming.

Fleming said he expects to have updates on Coquihalla Highway repairs on Wednesday. Last week, the minister said the corridor could reopen to commercial traffic as early as next month.

To stay up-to-date on the latest road conditions visit DriveBC.ca.