Highway 4 ‘on track’ to fully reopen by Labour Day long weekend: Ministry

B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation says it’s on track to reopen a critical highway on Vancouver Island that was damaged by a wildfire in June.

Highway 4 is the only paved road connecting Tofino, Ucluelet and Port Alberni to the rest of Vancouver Island.

The route was closed for weeks in June due to the Cameron Bluffs wildfire, and has been restricted to single-lane alternating traffic since then, along with intermittent full closures for road work or due to weather.

2:18 Stretch of Highway 4 closed for repairs

On Friday, the transportation ministry said it expects the route to fully reopen to two-lane travel  ” before the Labour Day long weekend, after a successful day of rock scaling allowed crews to move toward stabilizing the bluffs.”

“Yesterday marked the second planned full daytime closure,” the ministry said in a media release.

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“Crews removed approximately a dozen refrigerator-sized boulders from Angel Rock, the most challenging segment of the bluff. In addition, crews placed 700 metres of roadside barrier and completed highway resurfacing in key locations.”

4:10 Impact of Hwy 4 Closures

Despite the progress, the ministry said it will require at least one more closure — from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. next Tuesday, Aug. 29 — to complete scaling work at Angel Rock.

Travellers on the island are being advised to take the closure into effect, and the ministry said a detour via a graded logging road from the Cowichan Valley will remain open until the highway work is complete.

In the interim, the highway remains open to single-lane alternating traffic, with closures from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. on weekdays.