British Columbia Highway 5

British Columbia Highway 5

Highway 5 is a north-south route in southern British Columbia, Canada. It connects the southern Trans-Canada route (Highway 1) with the northern Yellowhead route (Highway 16), providing the shortest land connection between Vancouver and Edmonton. It is 524 km (326 mi) in total length. The portion of Highway 5 south of Kamloops is also known as the Coquihalla Highway, while its northern portion is known as the Southern Yellowhead Highway. The Coquihalla section was a toll road until 2008.

The current Highway 5 is not the first highway in B.C. to have this designation. Between 1941 and 1953, the section of present-day Highway 97 and Highway 97A between Kaleden, just north of Osoyoos, and Salmon Arm was Highway 5. In 1953, the '5' designation was moved to the route designated today as Highway 5A to the south of Kamloops, and its current route north of Kamloops. In 1986, Highway 5 was re-routed to its present alignment between Hope and Merritt. The direct route between Merritt and Kamloops was completed in 1987. The total cost for the highway between Hope and Merritt was approximately $848 million.

South of Kamloops, Highway 5 is known as the Coquihalla Highway (colloquially "the Coke"), and is a 186 km (116 mi)-long freeway, varying between four and six lanes and having a posted speed limit of 110 km/h (68 mph). The route that the Coquihalla follows through the Cascade Mountains is approximately the same route traced out by the former Kettle Valley Railway, which existed on this route between 1912 and 1958. It is so-named because it generally follows the Coquihalla River for about 60 km (37 mi) near Hope and also uses the Coquihalla Pass.

In 2003, Premier Gordon Campbell announced that his Liberal government was going to turn over the operation and maintenance of the Coquihalla, as well as the toll revenue, to a private operator. The public and numerous businesses in the Interior of British Columbia were strongly opposed to this plan, so the provincial government shelved it three months after its announcement.

On September 26, 2008, the provincial government lifted the Coquihalla tolls permanently, effective 1:00 pm that day. The toll station and signs have since been dismantled.

Although the Yellowhead Highway system is considered part of the Trans-Canada Highway network, the Highway 5 segment is not marked as such.