British Columbia Highway 5

A plaque commemorating the opening of the Coquihalla Highway in Hope, British Columbia.

Coquihalla Highway marker (1986-2011)

The current Highway 5 is not the first highway in B.C. to have this designation. From 1941 to 1953, the section of present-day Highway 97, Highway 97A, and Highway 97B, between Kaleden, just south of Penticton, and Salmon Arm, was formerly Highway 5. In 1953, the '5' designation was moved to designate Princeton-Merritt-Kamloops Highway (present-day Highway 5A) to north of Kamloops; by 1960 Highway 5 was extended north to Tête Jaune Cache and subsequently paved.[7] In 1970, Highway 5 between Kamloops and Tête Jaune Cache was designated as the South Yellowhead Highway and signed with the Yellowhead Highway shield, while the section south of Kamloops was still signed with the standard British Columbia highway shield.[8]

In the 1960s, the Merritt Board of Trade began lobbying the B.C. government for a new highway route to Hope, including a vehicle caravan that was staged eight times starting in 1963, over the abandoned Kettle Valley Railway grade, in order draw attention to the potential of this route.[9] Surveying commenced in 1973 and in 1979 the first construction contract was issued for 4.5 km (2.8 mi) section of highway between Nicolum Creek and Peers Creek near Hope; however, work progressed slowly until 1984 when Premier Bill Bennett announced that the project would be fast-tracked so it could be completed to coincide with Expo 86.[9][10] To ensure the project was completed on time, more than 10,000 people were needed to fill all of the jobs and more than 1,000 pieces of heavy equipment worked non-stop every day during the summer of 1985 to get it done.[10] The project was divided into three phases, with Phase 1 being the 115 km (71 mi) section between Hope and Merritt, Phase 2 being the 80 km (50 mi) section between Merritt and Kamloops, and Phase 3 being a 108 km (67 mi) branch between Merritt and Peachland, south of Kelowna.[9] In order to offset the cost of fast-tracking construction, Phase 1 was made a toll highway, with a toll plaza constructed at the summit of Coquihalla Pass; was designed to accommodate 13 toll booths for 14 lanes of traffic.[9]

On May 16, 1986, Phase 1 was officially opened and Highway 5 was re-routed between Hope and Merritt. The opening celebrations featured a ceremony in Hope followed by a convoy led the Premier in an open air convertible that smashed through paper banners strung across the new highway lanes, stopped at the Coquihalla summit to dedicate a time capsule, and continued to Merritt for further celebrations.[9] The total cost for the highway between Hope and Merritt was approximately $848 million.[11] Phase 2 between Merritt and Kamloops opened in September 1987, re-routing Highway 5, while Phase 3 was opened in October 1990 and designated as Highway 97C.[9] The three phases have been credited with transforming Merritt into an important transportation hub between the coast and interior, as well as significant growth in both Kamloops and the Okanagan due to improved accessibility.[10]

In 2003, Premier Gordon Campbell announced the Liberal government would turn over toll revenue to a private operator, along with responsibility for operation, and maintenance of "the Coq".[12] In response to strong opposition from the public, and numerous businesses, in the Interior of British Columbia, the provincial government shelved the move three months later.[13]

On September 26, 2008, the provincial government permanently lifted the Coquihalla tolls, effective 1:00 pm that day.[11][14] Subsequently, the toll station and signs were dismantled.[15]

In 2011, the British Columbia government replaced the standard British Columbia Highway 5 shields with Yellowhead Highway 5 shields south of Kamloops, which at the time drew some concern that the Coquihalla Highway would be officially renamed.[16][17]

Effective July 2, 2014, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure increased the speed limit of Coquihalla Highway from 110 km/h (68 mph) to 120 km/h (75 mph) after conducting an engineering assessment and province-wide speed review.[18] In June 2016, the province implemented a variable speed limit corridor around the Coquhalla Summit Park to increase safety during adverse conditions.

From south to north, the following intersections are observed along Highway 5:[19][20]

Regional District	Location	km[1]	mi	Exit[21]	Name[21]	Destinations	Notes
Freeway and exit numbers continues along Hwy 1 (TCH) west – Vancouver
Fraser Valley	Hope	0.00	0.00	170	Hope	Hwy 1 (TCH) east (Water Avenue) – Cache Creek, Kamloops, Prince George	West end of Hwy 3 concurrency; no westbound exit
		0.99	0.62	171		To Hwy 1 (TCH) east (3 Avenue) – Hope, Cache Creek	Westbound exit only
		3.08	1.91	173	Thacker Creek	Old Hope-Princeton Way (Hwy 915:1300 west)	Hwy 915:1300 is unsigned; no westbound entrance
	​	6.67	4.14	177	Othello	Hwy 3 east (Crowsnest Highway) – Princeton, Penticton, Osoyoos	East end of Hwy 3 concurrency
				South end of Coquihalla Highway
		13.00	8.08	183	Peers Creek	Othello Road – Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park
		22.02	13.68	192	Jessica	Sowaqua Creek Road
		25.77	16.01	195	Carolin	Carolin Mines Road
		29.68	18.44	200	Shylock	Shylock Road (U-turn route only)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance.
		31.19	19.38	202	Portia	Portia, Old Coquihalla Road	No southbound exit.
		42.21	26.23	Great Bear Snowshed
		45.53	28.29	217	Zopkios	Zopkios rest area
		48.93	30.40	Coquihalla Pass – 1,244 m (4,081 ft)
		51.35	31.91	221	Falls Lake	Falls Lake Road
↑ / ↓	​	52.22	32.45	Dry Gulch Bridge
Thompson-Nicola	​	58.11	36.11	228	Coquihalla Lakes	Coquihalla Lakes Road – Britton Creek Rest Area
		61.09	37.96	231	Mine Creek	Mine Creek Road (U-turn route only)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance.
		61.2	38.0	238	Juliet	Juliet Creek Road – Coldwater River Provincial Park
		79.69	49.52	250	Larson Hill	Larson Hill
		86.46	53.72	256	Kingsvale	Coldwater Road
		106.32	66.06	276	Comstock	Comstock Road
	Merritt	115.99	72.07	286	Coldwater	Hwy 5A south – Princeton Hwy 8 west (Nicola Avenue) – Spences Bridge Hwy 97C – Ashcroft, Logan Lake, Kelowna
		119.96	74.54	290	Nicola	Hwy 5A north / Voght Street – Quilchena, Kamloops
	​	145.31	90.29	315	Helmer	Helmer Road
		152.60	94.82	Surrey Lake Summit – 1,444 m (4,738 ft)
		167.11	103.84	336	Walloper	Hwy 97D south / Lac Le Jeune Road – Logan Lake
		185.48	115.25	355	Inks Lake	Inks Lake Road
	Kamloops	192.22	119.44	362	Afton	Hwy 1 (TCH) west – Cache Creek, Lytton, Vancouver Hwy 97 north – Cache Creek, Prince George To Hwy 99 south – Lillooet	West end of Hwy 1 / Hwy 97 concurrency
				North end of Coquihalla Highway
		196.45	122.07	366	Copperhead	Copperhead Drive, Lac le Jeune Road
		198.13	123.11	367	Pacific Way	Pacific Way
		198.92	123.60	368	Aberdeen	Hwy 5A south / Hillside Way – Merritt
		200.22	124.41	369	Sagebrush	Columbia Street – City Centre	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		200.80	124.77	370	Springhill	Summit Drive – City Centre	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		204.29	126.94	374	Yellowhead	Hwy 1 (TCH) east – Salmon Arm, Banff, Calgary Hwy 97 south – Vernon	East end of Hwy 1 / Hwy 97 concurrency
				South end of Southern Yellowhead Highway • Hwy 5 exits freeway using Exit 374.
	↑ / ↓	204.74	127.22	Yellowhead Bridge over South Thompson River
	Kamloops No. 1	206.09	128.06			Shuswap Road	Signalized, at-grade intersection
		208.16	129.34			Mount Paul Way	Signalized, at-grade intersection
		210.04	130.51			Halston Road (Hwy 921:1771 west) / Paul Lake Road (Hwy 921:1773 east) – North Shore, Kamloops Airport	Signalized, at-grade intersection; Hwy 915:1771 and Hwy 915:1773 is unsigned
	Kamloops	220.16	136.80			Puett Ranch Road
		228.74	142.13			Tod Mountain Road (Hwy 921:1776 east) – Sun Peaks	Hwy 915:1776 is unsigned
	Barriere	267.64	166.30			Barriere Town Road, Lilley Road
		270.06	167.81	Barriere North Thompson Bridge across North Thompson River
	Little Fort	297.88	185.09			Hwy 24 west – Bridge Lake
	​	319.86	198.75			Old North Thompson Highway (Hwy 921:1765 north)	Hwy 921:1765 is unsigned
	Clearwater	327.04	203.21			Old North Thompson Highway, Clearwater Village Road	Connects to unsigned Hwy 921:1765 south
		328.08	203.86			Clearwater Valley Road, Park Drive – Wells Gray Provincial Park	Roundabout
	Avola	395.43	245.71	Avola North Thompson Bridge across North Thompson River
	​	423.68	263.26	Six Mile Bridge across North Thompson River
	Blue River	434.43	269.94			Angus Horne Street, Shell Road
	​	474.40	294.78	Lempriere Bridge across North Thompson River
		477.34	296.61	Moombeam Bridge across North Thompson River
		478.91	297.58	Gosnell Bridge across North Thompson River
Fraser-Fort George	Valemount	523.94	325.56			5th Avenue, Pine Road	Signalized, at-grade intersection
	Tête Jaune Cache	543.13	337.49	Tête Jaune Bridge across Fraser River
		543.33	337.61		Tête Jaune	Hwy 16 (TCH) – McBride, Prince George, Jasper, Edmonton	Interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition

An archived article from the BC government website provides insight on the name Coquihalla: "Kw'ikw'iya:la (Coquihalla) in the Halq'emeylem language of the Stó:lō, is a place name meaning 'stingy container.' It refers specifically to a fishing rock near the mouth of what is now known as the Coquihalla River. This rock is a good platform for spearing salmon. According to Stó:lō oral history, the skw'exweq (water babies, underwater people) who inhabit a pool close by the rock, would swim out and pull the salmon off the spears, allowing only certain fisherman to catch the salmon."[22] The route is also often referred to simply as "The Coq" (pronounced "coke").

• Highway 5 is the main highway serviced in Discovery Channel show, Highway Thru Hell.
• The song "Hurtin' Albertan" by country singer Corb Lund makes reference to the Coquihalla in the lyric "...there's good weather up on the Coke."
• The Canadian pop-punk band Chixdiggit featured a song about the road, "I Drove The Coquihalla," on its self-titled debut Chixdiggit! (Sub Pop, 1996).

• 
  Highway 5 passing through Thompson Plateau
• 
  The toll booth once marked the halfway point of the formerly tolled Hope-to-Merritt portion of the highway.
• 
  Passing Nicola Valley southbound.
• 
  Downtown Valemount as seen from the west side of Highway 5.
• 
  Southern Yellowhead Highway 5, southbound.

• Media related to British Columbia Highway 5 at Wikimedia Commons
• 7 Things You Need to Know BEFORE Driving the Coquihalla and High Mountain Passes