'Expect major congestion': Malahat highway to close overnight as repairs will take days

Victoria -

The Malahat highway reopened to single-lane alternating traffic on Tuesday morning, following heavy rains Monday.

While the highway has reopened for "essential travel," the province says the Malahat will be closed in both directions overnight for six days.

The highway will be closed from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday. Following that, the highway will be closed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for five days, according to the Ministry of Transportation.

"The full overnight closure is required to repair the highway at Tunnel Hill from damage caused by the recent weather conditions," said the ministry in a release Tuesday.

The province says there's no firm date for when single-lane alternating traffic will end. Currently, traffic alternates by direction in the 30-minute intervals. 

Road maintenance contractor Emcon Services says the highway could be down to a single lane for up to a week as crews repair damage caused by the flooding.

The highway was closed through the Goldstream area as a geotechnical assessment was conducted overnight Monday. The extent of the damage remains unknown.

Work crews partially reopened the highway just before 9 a.m. Tuesday after heavy rainfall and ground instability forced the closure of the main artery between Victoria and the Cowichan Valley.

Current wait times to travel through the area in either direction range from 30 minutes to two hours. 

The Malahat Highway is pictured on Nov. 16, 2021: (CTV News)

Emcon spokesperson Andrew Gaetz says the major failure occured on the shoulder of the roadway, but may have compromised the stability of the northbound lane.

The closure stranded countless travellers and prompted BC Ferries to operate the Mill Bay ferry across the Saanich Inlet overnight.

Hundreds of cars were already lined up at the Brentwood Bay ferry terminal, waiting to cross the inlet, by 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

One woman waiting in the line said local residents had provided coffee and blankets to those waiting to board the small ferry.

The province says the only detours available are the Brentwood Bay ferry, and the Pacific Marine car route.

The line at the Brentwood Ferry terminal stretched for hundreds of metres Tuesday morning: Nov. 16, 2021 (CTV News)

B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Tuesday that an "unbelievable" amount of rain flooded the Malahat in the Goldstream area.

"I don’t think anyone has seen the kind of rain they’ve seen in Goldstream," Farnworth said. "It's just unbelievable."

"The crews, contractors, search and rescue people, everybody involved in this emergency over the past 24 hours has done just an incredible job, not just here on the island but all over the province," Farnworth added.

Emcon is urging drivers to only travel the Malahat if it is absolutely necessary.

A DriveBC highway camera looks south at the Malahat highway from Goldstream Park at Finlayson Arm Road.: Nov. 16, 2021

"I would expect major congestion," an Emcon spokesperson told CFAX 1070 on Tuesday. "The Malahat can be congested on a good day... please only travel if it's essential."