Highway 3 between Princeton and Hope will stay closed for several weeks: province

People won't be able to travel along B.C.'s Highway 3 without significant delays and detours over the holiday season, says the Ministry of Transportation.

It says a section of the highway between Princeton and Hope that was damaged by flooding earlier this week will be closed for the near future.

“We’re looking to several weeks ahead of us to restore a single lane of traffic,” Janelle Staite, the ministry's deputy director of the South Coast region, told CBC's BC Today.

Staite said heavy rain overnight on Monday and Tuesday caused a 50-metre section of the highway, between Princeton and Hope, to wash out.

She said the heavy rain overwhelmed infrastructure, resulting in a plugged culvert 42 kilometres east of the Highway 3 and Highway 5 junction.

Crews have been dispatched to work on the site.

People travelling for the holidays between the Lower Mainland and Southern Interior will have to use an alternative route.

The Sunshine Valley is currently accessible from Hope, and Manning Park Resort, which opens this weekend, can be accessed from Highway 3 via Princeton.