Highway 4 reopens after overnight closure due to wind danger

Vancouver Island's only highway to the western communities of Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet reopened Monday morning after high winds forced it to close Sunday afternoon.

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure made the decision to close Highway 4 at Cameron Lake at 4 p.m. Sunday because the winds posed safety concerns for cranes suspending protective wire mesh over site.

The mesh was erected last month to prevent loose rocks and other debris from falling onto the roadway after the Cameron Bluffs wildfire.

"In high winds, the mesh must be lowered, which puts the site at increased risk of falling debris," the ministry said in a statement.

The highway reopened around 6:30 a.m. Monday and will remain open until 1:30 p.m. to allow for traffic that was backed up overnight to clear the area. The highway will then close until 5 p.m.

Weekday closures from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. were scheduled to begin Monday at Cameron Lake to allow workers to remove debris left by the wildfire east of Port Alberni.

That schedule will instead begin on Tuesday and last until mid-August, with a two-hour opening to flush single-lane alternating traffic between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily.

The ministry says the work is critical to ensure the long-term safety of the corridor after a geotechnical assessment of the hillside found that rock scaling would be required before the highway can fully reopen to two-way traffic.

"This is a crucial step to ensure Highway 4 can fully reopen as soon as possible, end single-lane alternating traffic, and keep goods and people moving into our western communities," Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said.

"We know this has been a challenging time for businesses and the tourism sector on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and we thank people for their patience as we work as quickly as possible to get this main corridor safely operating at full capacity again," Fleming added.

Outside of the closure periods, Highway 4 will continue to operate with single-lane alternating traffic. The four-hour detour route between Youbou and Port Alberni will also remain open for public and commercial use.

Highway 4 was closed on June 6 as firefighters battled the Cameron Bluffs wildfires. Single-lane alternating traffic has been in place along the highway since June 23.