Highway 4 is having its first of two full-day closures in order to remove hazardous “refrigerator-sized boulders.”
Highway 4 will be fully closed until 9 p.m. to allow crews to remove the boulders then will reopen for its usual single-lane alternating traffic with closures from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., and from 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. during the week. The next full-day closure will be Thursday, Aug. 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
💥 This is one of the kind of refrigerator-sized rocks that @TranBC contractors + crews are removing near Angel Rock on #BCHwy4 at Cameron Lake. Huge thanks to workers undertaking this, some of the final recovery work to re-establish two-way traffic. MORE: https://t.co/OSUVH5vNkf pic.twitter.com/oe5z6JlTOK
— Josie Osborne (@Josie_Osborne) August 17, 2023
READ MORE: Highway 4 at Cameron Bluffs to see two full daytime closures starting Thursday
The B.C. government says there are about one dozen of the boulders that need to be removed from the Angel Rock area, which has been the most challenging area of the bluff to work on.
Work is expected to be complete by the end of August, and the highway is expected to fully reopen at that time.
The work is to repair damage done by the Cameron Bluffs wildfire.
The highway was originally expected to fully reopen by mid-July, but when restoration work began, crews found the situation required more work than expected to ensure the long-term safety of the road.
READ PREVIOUS: More daytime closures with Highway 4 reopening delayed for at least one month
So far, approximately 200 dangerous trees and 600 tonnes of rock-scaling debris have been removed from the area. Crews still have to install 1.2 kilometres of barrier and rock fencing along the highway.
⛔REMINDER – #BCHwy4 will be CLOSED today at Cameron Bluffs from 8:30AM to 9:00PM for slope stabilization work.
Detour route: https://t.co/ZxXi9pTXYZ
Drivers are encouraged to pack accordingly and exercise caution. #VanIsle #PortAlberniℹ️https://t.co/f7NFXFjBay pic.twitter.com/QWYBOVXmuh
— DriveBC (@DriveBC) August 17, 2023
-With files from CHEK’s Dean Stoltz, Cole Sorenson, Ethan Morneau
Laura Brougham
