BC Ferries maintains extra Brentwood Bay sailings due to Malahat closures

Victoria -

With nightly closures still scheduled for the Malahat highway on Vancouver Island, BC Ferries says it will continue to operate additional sailings on the Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay route.

The four extra roundtrip sailings will run between 7:30 p.m. and 11:35 p.m. on Wednesday evening.

The schedule for the added sailings can be found below:

Nov. 17, 2021: (BC Ferries)

On Wednesday morning, BC Ferries notified travellers that vehicle space on this route was being prioritized for emergency and medical services.

BC Ferries says regular sailing hours are expected to return to the Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay route Thursday.

The Malahat highway reopened to single-lane alternating traffic on Tuesday morning. However, the province urges drivers to only use the highway for essential purposes.

The highway is open in 30-minute intervals in alternating directions, and will be closed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the next five nights for repairs.

The overnight closures has bottlenecked traffic to the South Island. The only detours available are the Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay ferry, and the Pacific Marine route which skirts around the southwest coast of Vancouver Island.

Road conditions have prompted the Canadian Armed Forces to encourage workers living north of the Malahat to work remotely until repairs are complete.