The West Coast is celebrating a long awaited milestone on Wednesday as the provincial government has announced Hwy. 4B次元官网网址檚 much maligned daytime closures will soon end.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going to be great that thatB次元官网网址檚 done. ItB次元官网网址檚 also going to of course be good for business and the travel on the highway thatB次元官网网址檚 certainly been backed up for many years now, so itB次元官网网址檚 great news that itB次元官网网址檚 going in the right direction and weB次元官网网址檙e all very excited,B次元官网网址� Tofino mayor Dan Law told the Westerly B次元官网网址.
The only road connecting the Tofino-Ucluelet region to the rest of Vancouver Island has been shut down in both directions from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. as part of the ministry of transportationB次元官网网址檚 $53.96 million Kennedy Hill improvement project, which began in 2018 and has since blown past its initial 2020 completion date.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been almost five years of delays and closures and thatB次元官网网址檚 certainly had an affect, especially for locals who have to get out of town for medical appointments or other necessary trips. ItB次元官网网址檚 been a constant delay. EverybodyB次元官网网址檚 thinking about scheduling to get out of town and back again,B次元官网网址� Law said. B次元官网网址淭he impact on business has been pretty clear. We still have tremendous visitation numbers, but itB次元官网网址檚 caused issues with scheduling and of course the amount of traffic on the road at times has had a large impact.B次元官网网址�
The province said extended daytime closures will end on March 11, though commuters should still expect delays as single lane alternating traffic will flow at the top of the hour from 5 a.m.-11 p.m on weekdays.
Weekend traffic can expect single-lane alternating traffic from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and top of the hour queue releases from 8-11 p.m. Nightly closures will take place from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., with a release to clear queued traffic at 2 a.m.
B次元官网网址淭his new schedule is designed to make trip planning easier for families, business owners, tour operators and other travellers, especially heading into spring break. On weekends, single-lane alternating traffic during the day will limit wait times for drivers to about 15 minutes,B次元官网网址� the announcement states. B次元官网网址淥nce complete, the Highway 4 - Kennedy Hill Safety Improvement Project will create a safer, more reliable connection between Port Alberni and the west coast of Vancouver Island.B次元官网网址�
The Kennedy Hill project involves a roughly 1.5-kilometre stretch of the highway, which required significant blasting work with over 150,000 cubic metres of rock removed so far.
B次元官网网址淲ith this stage of the project completed, the contractor will shift focus to road alignment and grade lowering, which includes building support structures,B次元官网网址� according to WednesdayB次元官网网址檚 announcement, which adds that the project is expected to be B次元官网网址渟ubstancially completedB次元官网网址� by the summer of 2022.
B次元官网网址淚t was certainly a dangerous section. It was narrow with an extremely steep drop off and thereB次元官网网址檚 been accidents and fatalities and thatB次元官网网址檚 a concern, especially with the dramatic increase in traffic and industrial traffic,B次元官网网址� Law said. B次元官网网址淭hat road was not suitable for the amount of traffic and the type of traffic that weB次元官网网址檙e seeing. This was a really needed project. ItB次元官网网址檚 going to make the road safer, wider, straighter. ItB次元官网网址檚 a very good thing.B次元官网网址�
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
Like us on and follow us on
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
