Daily closures have begun on Hwy. 4 so rock scaling work can commence in a bid to fully re-open the highway linking Port Alberni to Oceanside. (BC Government)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

ROAD CLOSURES

Hwy. 4 closures begin for rock scaling work at Cameron Lake Bluffs

Jul 17, 2023 | 9:35 AM

NANAIMO — Periodic weekday closures of traffic on Hwy. 4 at Cameron Lake are underway.

Crews shut down the only highway link connecting Tofino, Ucluelet and Port Alberni to the rest of Vancouver Island at 9 a.m. starting Monday, July 17, and will do so daily through to mid-August to afford time for critical rock scaling work to be done.

Westbound traffic will be permitted through for an hour between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., followed by eastbound traffic which will also be open for an hour.

The highway will re-close at 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. when single-lane alternating traffic will resume through the evening and overnight hours.

No closures are scheduled for weekends or holidays, however travel was shut down on Sunday, July 16 as a result of high winds in the area.

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Two cranes are suspending a metal curtain over exposed rock near the highway, with the winds making passage unsafe for other vehicles.

Those trying to make it through reported extensive lineups on both sides.

Hwy. 4 was shut down in early June during the Cameron Bluffs wildfire which charred surrounding bush and sent rock and other debris onto the roadway.

Some sections of the highway were damaged as a result.

The nearly two-kilometre stretch of highway by the bluff affected by fire opened to single-lane alternating traffic in late June.

A detour along forest service roads which connects Lake Cowichan with Port Alberni remains in place, however, wildfire risks are preventing the grading of the roadway.

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