Nightly closures coming to Highway 4 near Tofino, Ucluelet as project cost balloons to $54M
Nightly closures of the only highway in and out of Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim communities are set to resume next month.
British Columbia’s transportation ministry announced Thursday that nighttime closures would return to Highway 4 at Kennedy Lake starting July 6.
The closures will occur between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. every night of the week except Saturday, temporarily blocking all travel between Port Alberni and the communities of Tofino and Ucluelet.
Daytime construction will continue at the site, with single-lane alternating traffic allowed through intermittently. The ministry says drivers should expect delays of about 30 minutes between 2 a.m. and 8 p.m.
COST GROWS TO $54 MILLION
The ministry announced Thursday that the cost of the highway improvement project has grown to $53.96 million.
The original project budget was $38.1 million and work was expected to be complete by summer 2020. Now the province says the completion date is likely to be summer 2022.
Early last year, blasting at the Kennedy Hill site triggered a rockslide that cut off access to Tofino and Ucluelet for a weekend.
“A variety of factors, including the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for smaller blasts due to the nature of the fractured bedrock, increased environmental protections and the repairs to Highway 4 resulting from blasting damage at the project site in January 2020, have contributed to a new projected completion date,” the ministry said in a statement Thursday.
The project budget includes $13.5 million in federal funding under the New Building Canada Fund, with the remainder paid for by the province.
The full schedule of highway closures for the area is available here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.