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
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.