BԪַ

Skip to content

Highway closure costs Islanders millions in tourism, business challenges

West Coast businesses still feel impact of continued closures during rock scaling work on Highway 4
web1_230308-avn-women-naomi-nicholson-alberni_2
Naomi Nicholson and her husband Ed have transformed their Chims Guest House property to offer different tourist accommodations. (HEATHER WARREN PHOTO)

Naomi Nicholson walks around the property at Chims Guest House, pointing out the different types of accommodation she and her husband Ed have spent the past two post-COVID-19 years building up.

The tidy buildingsBԪַa mix of private suites, tiny homes and an RV pad, are situated off Highway 4 west of Port Alberni, and offer views of Mount Arrowsmith and the forest at the back of the property.

ItBԪַs quiet on the lotBԪַtoo quiet for Nicholson. BԪַBefore the road closures and fire we were doing pretty well,BԪַ she says. BԪַNow everything has kind of stopped, but I still have bills to pay.BԪַ

Nicholson is just one of dozens of business owners and operators impacted by the closure of Highway 4 during the Cameron Bluffs wildfire, and continuing into the scheduled weekday closures for rock scaling and cleanup.

Cancellations that came in when Highway 4 closed on June 6 due to the wildfire have had a detrimental snowball effect.

Nicholson said she has corporate bookings for companies waiting to work on large projects in the Alberni Valley, but they keep pushing back their bookings because they cannot get their oversized equipment into the city to start work.

The oversize restrictions on Highway 4 have also affected her directly: Nicholson has another tiny home that was supposed to be delivered in mid-June to her property, but movers canBԪַt get it here: it canBԪַt travel over the long detour on a gravel logging road, and oversize loads arenBԪַt permitted around Cameron Lake. In the meantime she has had to start making payments on the homeBԪַwithout the ability to make revenue from it.

BԪַNow IBԪַm paying on an asset I own and canBԪַt access and I canBԪַt make money on it,BԪַ she said.

BԪַWeBԪַre booked for the August long weekend for two weddings and a baseball tournament. I sure hope they still happen.BԪַ

A business impact survey conducted jointly by chambers of commerce in Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet collected data on how the closure impacted businessesBԪַnot just tourism businesses.

Jolleen Dick, CEO of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Centre, wouldnBԪַt share an exact dollar figure but said the impact is BԪַdefinitely way over a million dollars.BԪַ She had 55 Alberni Valley-based businesses respond to the survey BԪַwhich is a 10 percent sample of the number of business licences we have here. Most respondents indicated 60 to 80 percent loss in their businesses as a result of the closure,BԪַ she said.

BԪַOther impacts were having to lay off staff as a result of the (June) closure because there wasnBԪַt enough business. Freight was a huge issue and continues to be an issue.BԪַ

The problem with the new scheduled closures, she added, is the roadwork needs to be done while the weather is good. BԪַItBԪַs definitely going to be a challenge.BԪַ

In Tofino, the revenue reportedly lost by businesses during the closure period was an estimated $29.7 million, according to the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. In Ucluelet that figure is $14 million, for a west coast total of nearly $44 million in losses.

Most of the businessesBԪַlike NicholsonBԪַwere not eligible for business interruption insurance or government assistance. Some workers were able to access EI, but many that are temporary or seasonal staff did not qualify.

For Elliot Drew, operations manager at McLean Mill National Historic Site, news of the scheduled July and August closures is disappointing. Drew was hoping 2023 would be a rebuilding year for the millBԪַthe first since 2019 operating without restrictions.

At the beginning of the tourist season it looked like the mill was well on its way. BԪַIn the first week of June we saw 176 visitorsBԪַin literally the first five days of June,BԪַ he said.

On June 6, Highway 4 was closed when the Cameron Bluffs wildfire reached the highway. A detour route via Bamfield Main through Lake Cowichan was opened within 24 hours, but drivers were encouraged to use the detour route for essential travel only. It was a dusty, arduous road for some tourists.

Since that point, with the exception of the Saturday of high school promBԪַwhen the mill site was busy with graduates coming for photosBԪַBԪַweBԪַre seeing 10 or so people per day,BԪַ Drew said.

BԪַAlthough itBԪַs increasing slowly weBԪַre not back to seeing 30 to 40 people per day.BԪַ

While more local residents are visiting the site and using it as a place to walk, they arenBԪַt the ones spending money in the gift shop, he said. BԪַIt makes a big difference in that revenue.BԪַ

Rock-scaling crews made BԪַgood progressBԪַ in the first three days of the new work, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. On Friday, July 21 they began removing one of four cranes that were put in place at the end of June to hold up a mesh fence against the bluff.

Given its complex nature, rock scaling BԪַmust be completed during good weather and during daytime hours,BԪַ the ministry noted. The work is required before the highway can be safely reopened to two-way traffic.

The road continues to be closed for two periods daily, from 9BԪַ11:30 a.m. and again from 1:30BԪַ5 p.m. There are no closures overnight or on weekends, including on the B.C. Day long weekend. WeatherBԪַparticularly windy conditionsBԪַcan affect closures. For up-to-date information about road conditions, check the .

READ ALSO:

READ ALSO:



Susie Quinn

About the Author: Susie Quinn

A journalist since 1987, I have been the Alberni Valley BԪַ editor since August 2006.
Read more



(or

BԪַ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }