Weather keeps major B.C. highway closed

Poor weather conditions are hampering effortsto reopen theCoquihalla Highway in the British Columbia Interior.

An avalanche has kept the route between Hope and Merritt closed since Thursday morning.

Jeff Knight,a spokesman with the provincial Ministry of Transportation, said Sunday that while helicopter crews were able to trigger some natural avalanches, they had to begrounded by afternoon because of poor visibility. Road crews are standing by, he said, but he had no idea when conditions might improve enough for them to go to work.

Drivers must take either Highway1 throughthe Fraser Canyon, which was reopened after a small slide north of Hope was cleared last week,or Highway 3 via Princeton.