Highway 4 to Port Alberni and the west coast communities of Tofino and Ucluelet — limited to single-lane-alternating traffic openings for more than 80 days — is finally open to two-way traffic.
The Ministry of Transportation announced Thursday that a major rock-scaling effort to remove loose boulders, burned trees and debris from the fire-scorched cliffs around Cameron Lake is complete and the roadway was open by 5 p.m.
“We’re all very happy this day has finally come … it’s been tough,” said Tofino Mayor Dan Law. “Obviously, it’s great news for Tofino and for the entire region.
“A lot of businesses will start the new year in the red, but we are a resilient community and will find a way through.”
Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions said there was a collective sign of relief from her community when news spread that the highway was reopening. She said the losses to the city’s economy — ranging from tourism and small businesses to lumber and paper industries — are still being calculated, but will end up being in the millions of dollars.
Minions owns a restaurant in the city and estimates she has lost about $20,000 a month since the closures began. “That’s significant and I’m just one restaurant,” said the mayor.
She said the Chamber of Commerce is still calculating overall losses among businesses that include Catalyst Paper and the San Group, which had trouble receiving supplies and shipping out finished products.
A 17-day road closure from June 6 to June 23 alone cost the communities of Tofino and Ucluelet $44 million, according to a survey of businesses by the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce in early July, prompting discussions about a permanent alternative route for future disasters.
The highway has either been closed or operating with single-lane-alternating traffic since a wildfire tore through Cameron Lake Bluffs on June 6. Driver had access to a rough detour route along logging roads via Lake Cowichan and the Bamfield area but it took four hours to drive.
Since the end of June, crews have working to stabilize the cliffs above the highway.
The Transportation Ministry had said removal of loose rocks and debris and installation of 1.4 kilometres of concrete barriers and catchment fencing had to be completed before the highway could be fully reopened ahead of the Labour Day long weekend. That job was finished Thursday.
Highway 4 is now open for all passenger and commercial vehicles, including oversized loads that require a permit, the ministry said. Signage around the detour route, and its checkpoints, will be dismantled, though the detour remains open.
In a statement, Transportation Minister Rob Fleming thanked the crews who “worked tirelessly to make reopening possible, and the businesses, local governments and First Nations who waited patiently while we kept people and goods moving to and from communities on the west coast of the Island.”
The fact that the reopening comes before the Labour Day weekend is welcome news for the tourism industry, said Law.
“I think you’re going to see a lot of good local deals” from hotels and other businesses in September and October, he said.
Duane Bell, a vice-president with the Tofino Chamber of Commerce and owner of Rhino Coffee House, said his business has suffered during the closures like many in his community.
“I make as much in one day in the summer [as] I do in a week in January,” said Bell. “So I’m hoping there’s a pent-up demand so [tourists] opt for a September or October trip.”
Bell said tourists were leaving Tofino at 5 a.m., instead of the usual 9 a.m. or later so they could make the alternate openings on the highway, and that hurt his business.
“We will pull together here, the businesses check in with each other and we’ll get through,” said Bell.
Josie Osborne, MLA for Mid Island-Pacific Rim, said in a statement that the region is “excited to welcome visitors for late summer and fall – one of the most beautiful times of the year to visit the Alberni Valley and the west coast.”
Making the cliffs and roadway safe to travel again involved removing 250 dangerous trees and 1,000 tonnes of rock debris over the 1.4-kilometre stretch, according to the ministry. Additional work included new catchment fencing, bolting rocks on the cliff side, instalment of a weather station and pavement patching, line marking and sign installation.
“I think there’s confidence in the road going forward,” said Minions. “They tried to make it a long-term solution, so there’s a lot of optimism now.”
