Coquihalla highway reopened between Hope and Merritt

A key highway linking BC's Lower Mainland to the southern Interior has reopened after heavy snow and numerous crashes closed it for hours overnight.

DriveBC, the province's online site for traffic and road conditions, says the route reopened just after 7 this morning.

The nearly 12 hour closure came as Environment Canada warned an estimated 30 centimetres of snow had accumulated during a two-day storm that began Sunday, blanketing most of BC's southern mountain passes.

The weather office says a further 10 to 15 centimetres have fallen today on the Hope to Merritt section of the Coquihalla but conditions should improve later this afternoon.