Officials with the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure have reopened Highway 4 to all traffic east of Port Alberni this afternoon (Dec. 26). The highway had been closed since approximately 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 25 after debris fell from Cameron Bluffs onto the roadway.
A geotechnical assessment of the area is complete, and maintenance contract crews have been deployed to start cleaning up debris. Once the road has been cleared and repairs are complete, the highway will reopen to traffic.
In the late afternoon of Christmas Day, two large rocks dislodged from the side of the bluff, hit the rockfall barrier and fell into the travel lanes, an MOTI spokesperson said. No one was injured.
READ: Christmas Day storm closes Tofino’s beaches, shuts down Hwy. 4 at Cameron Lake
A reception centre was opened in Qualicum Beach for travellers who were stuck on the east side of the slide area. Travellers stuck in Port Alberni were directed late last night to the Hospitality Inn by officials from the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District’s emergency program.
The MOTI says no detour is available around the rock slide. The ACRD Emergency Program asked drivers last night to shelter in place and not use the alternate route through Lake Cowichan/ Youbou that was open during Highway 4 closures in the summer. “It has not been maintained for public use and is not considered safe at this time,” the ACRD posted on social media.
For up-t0-date information about road conditions, go online to www.DriveBC.ca.
The Alberni Valley received more than 70 millimetres of rain, according to the reporting station at the Alberni Valley Regional Airport. Chris Alemany from Alberniweather.ca recorded 55 mm of rain at his weather station in Port Alberni.
“The all-time rainiest Christmas Day was 80.3 mm at the old Port Alberni station in 1929,” Alemany said. Wind was gusting up to 63 kilometres per hour in the middle of the night. This Christmas Day’s amount is the third highest since 1929.
Central Vancouver Island and the west coast are still under a flood watch by the BC River Forecast Centre. The Englishman River near Errington has been downgraded to a high streamflow advisory. Find more online from Emergency Info BC or bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca/warnings/index.htm.
