An ailing portion of Highway 4 near Port Alberni has closed again for a full day as crews continue to secure and repair it in the aftermath of a wildfire.
Until 9 p.m. on Thursday, crews will be removing about a dozen “refrigerator-sized boulders” by Cameron Lake Bluffs as part of rock-scaling work that began in June.
That’s when the Cameron Bluffs fire, suspected to be caused by humans, forced the closure of the critical highway connecting Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet to the rest of Vancouver Island. Fallen trees and debris littered the roadway as the flames compromised the stability of the bluff.
Crews have been doing significant stabilization work since then, resulting in multiple closures. High winds have contributed to the unexpected on-and-off again access to the highway as well.
Thursday’s work is being conducted at Angel Rock, which the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure described as the “most challenging segment” of the bluff in a Wednesday news release.
Once completed, the highway will continue to be closed twice a day, from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., and from 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. No overnight or weekend closures are planned.
Single, alternating-lane traffic will continue during the hours the route is open.
On Aug. 17, crews closed the Cameron Lake Bluffs portion of Highway 4 as well, removing five massive boulders and 10 truckloads of debris.
Highway 4 is expected to fully reopen to two-way traffic by the end of August.
The Cameron Bluffs fire, meanwhile, continues to burn at a size of about 229 hectares. It is classified as under control, meaning it will not spread due to current suppression efforts.