Thursday June 24, 2021 | WEST COAST of VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC
by Jalen C Codrington | Island Social Trends
If you’re driving to Tofino or Ucluelet this summer, plan your trip accordingly: starting Saturday July 6, 2021 there will be nighttime construction resuming on the Highway 4 Kennedy Hill improvement project.
Daytime closures have been in place along the highway since last year. Now that the most challenging sections of the roadwork has been completed, portions of work have been moved to nighttime. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) says this new schedule is being implemented to avoid midday closures, as well as to enable safer working conditions.
Overnight closures:
Nightly closures will take place from 8 pm to 2 am (except Saturday nights). Any changes to nighttime closure windows will be scheduled at least two weeks in advance. Drivers can expect delays of about 30 minutes when arriving for the top-of-the-hour closures between 8 pm to 2 am. Throughout the day, traffic releases will happen at the top of every hour to fully clear all queues via single lane alternating traffic.
Once completed, the project will create a safer and more reliable connection between Port Alberni and the west coast of the island, says MOTI.
The Pacific Rim Highway 4 is the only east-west corridor on Vancouver Island servicing the communities of Ucluelet and Tofino, as well as the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve at Long Beach. The improvements include widening the highway to accommodate two full lanes, removing sharp blind corners, reducing the existing 12% grade of the hill, adding a barrier on the lake side of the road, and implementing a new rest area with a viewpoint of Kennedy Lake.
A variety of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental concerns, and previous highway repairs have delayed the project completion date. The project is now expected to be completed in the summer of 2022.
Project cost:
The project budget has been increased to $53.96 million from $38.1 million and includes $13.5 million in federal funding under the New Building Canada Fund.
More Traffic Info:
- Highway 4 Kennedy Hill Improvements Project – current traffic advisories: Find the latest project closure schedule on MOTI contractor Emil Anderson Construction’s Facebook page. 24 hour travel advisory updated daily | Toll-free: 1-855-451-7152
- Island Social Trends traffic page (west shore and west coast) – including local Drive BC webcam feeds
- Drive BC