After a temporary closure due to sustained, high winds that posed safety concerns on Sunday, Highway 4 at Cameron Lake Bluff reopened Monday morning—however, daytime road closures have returned.
The closure, which occurred on Sunday at 4 p.m., was necessary due to safety concerns for cranes suspending protective wire mesh at site that was installed after the wildfires.
During high winds, the mesh must be lowered, which puts the site at increased risk of falling debris.
Highway 4 is the only section of road that connects Vancouver Island with its west coast communities of Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet.
Many travellers were stuck on both sides of the highway overnight due to the unsuspected closure.
The timing of the closure wasn’t the greatest as planned closures were slated to begin today.
Once traffic clears, road crews will begin work on stabilizing the slopes along Highway 4 where the Cameron Lake Bluffs fire impacted travel through the corridor.
The province says this work is critical to creating long-term safety on the only highway connecting Port Alberni, Tofino and several other communities to the rest of Vancouver Island.
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It has been determined via a geotechnical analysis that rock scaling must be done before the corridor can be reopened to two-way traffic.
Today’s scheduled work on the highway began around 1:30 p.m. and will remain closed until 5 p.m. today.
Then, beginning Tuesday July 18th, the highway will be closed for two periods daily from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; and from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
There will be no closures overnight or on weekends, including on the BC Day long weekend. This work is required before the highway can be safely reopened to two-way traffic, expected by mid-August.
“This is a crucial step to ensure Highway 4 can fully reopen as soon as possible, end single-lane-alternating traffic, and keep goods and people moving into our western communities,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.
“We know this has been a challenging time for businesses and the tourism sector on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and we thank people for their patience as we work as quickly as possible to get this main corridor safely operating at full capacity again.”
Besides the one week period where rock scaling will take place, Highway 4 will continue to operate on a single-lane-alternating traffic basis, as it is currently.
According to the province, commuters and commercial vehicles would expect long queues and lengthy travel times when passing through the affected area.
The logging road detour route which was opened while the Cameron Lake Bluffs wildfire caused the highway to close will remain open during the coming months of roadwork.
With files from Curtis Blandy
