New Hwy 4 closures 'devastating' for businesses on Vancouver Island's west coast: tourism leader

Drivers on Highway 4 will once again face challenges connecting to west coast communities on Vancouver Island after the province announced daytime construction closures on the route.

Beginning July 17, crews will begin rock scaling work on the Cameron Lake Bluffs, a stretch of the highway where the hillside was scorched by a recent wildfire.

The work involves removing loose rocks above the highway and the road must be closed due to rockfall hazards while that work takes place.

Closures will be in place 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday until mid-August, with a two-hour window where traffic can pass through between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. There will be no closures on weekends.

The section of the highway has been open to alternating single-lane traffic since it was reopened June 23 after being completely closed for more than two weeks. 

"This is a crucial step to ensure Highway 4 can fully reopen as soon as possible ... and keep goods and people moving into our western communities," said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming in a news release.

The news comes as a blow to businesses that were isolated for most of June, with the only available vehicle access being a long detour route using forest-service and privately owned industrial roads.

J.J. Belanger, board chair of the Tourism Industry Association of B.C. and owner of Crystal Cove Beach Resort in Tofino, B.C., said the highway closure cost the Tofino and Ucluelet economies $44 million and that further closures will bring more losses.

'It's devastating," said Belanger, speaking to CBC's On The Island.

Belanger said he has asked Fleming to consider expanding the two-hour window to four hours, but he is not confident it will happen.

According to Belanger, 15,000 cars a day travel the critical corridor connecting west coast communities with the rest of Vancouver Island.

Fleming said in the release he knows it has been a challenging time for businesses and the local tourism sector and the work is needed to ensure Highway 4 can fully reopen as soon as possible. 

"We thank people for their patience as we work as quickly as possible to get this main corridor safely operating at full capacity again," said Fleming.

But for Naomi Nicholson, co-owner of Chims Guest House in Port Alberni, any wait is too long.

"Before the fire, we were doing pretty well and now everything has just kind of stopped," said Nicholson, speaking on CBC's All Points West

She said now she is hearing from potential guests that they are worried about the risk of visiting the region and getting trapped and are instead choosing to take their summer holidays elsewhere.

The impact is hitting her bottom line hard, she said.

"I still have bills to pay," she said. "All the cancellations started a big snowball effect."

Outside of the closure periods for rock scaling, Highway 4 will operate with single-lane-alternating traffic. The province is asking all drivers to be patient and plan trips accordingly as traffic lines are expected to be lengthy.