Piloted vehicle convoys along the Highway 4 detour route have been discontinued as of Friday, now that single-lane alternating traffic is getting through at Cameron Lake following a complete closure due to a wildfire.
The convoys will be brought back if a need arises, the Transportation Ministry said. Checkpoints will be kept in place to provide information to users.
The highway, which links the communities of Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet to the rest of the Island, was shut down at the Cameron Lake bluffs after a wildfire that began in early June sent trees and rocks tumbling onto the pavement.
The detour route was opened in response and kept supplies flowing to affected communities. It takes about four hours to drive, and runs from Port Alberni to Lake Cowichan via the Bamfield area on forest-service roads and privately owned industrial roads.
Convoys escorted by pilot vehicles were run four times a day along the route.
The highway was reopened to single-lane traffic over a two-kilometre stretch on June 23. Protective mesh suspended by cranes is in place on some of the slopes adjacent to the highway to catch falling debris.
The highway is expected to fully reopen in the coming weeks, the ministry said.
Oversized loads that require permits are required to keep using the detour route for the time being.
Commercial drivers and others with questions or concerns can contact the ministry’s Nanaimo district office at 250-751-3246.
The ministry reminded motorists to obey all signs and traffic-control personnel in the vicinity of Highway 4’s single-lane stretch.
A driver had her vehicle impounded this week after being clocked doing 127 kilometres per hour in the area’s 60 km/h construction zone.
