Expect delays as section of Highway 19 closed on northern Vancouver Island

A section of Highway 19 on northern Vancouver Island will be closed to traffic until mid-September as workers replace a failed culvert and repair a large sinkhole.

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says drivers travelling between Port McNeill and Woss should expect delays and a detour while the maintenance work is underway at the Reload Railway south overpass, approximately 21 kilometres north of Woss.

The road is closed in both directions around the clock while workers replace the culvert, approximately nine metres below the highway, and then excavate and repair a sinkhole along the same section of the roadway.

The two-and-a-half-kilometre detour runs along logging roads parallel to the highway, and will be accessible for all traffic, including oversized loads, the province says.

Drivers are reminded to respect traffic-control personnel, who will direct traffic toward the detour.

The ministry says the work must be completed during optimal weather before the rain returns to the region.