Highway washout cuts off access to Vancouver Island communities
Posted December 3, 2016 1:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
UCLUELET – DriveBC says a highway washout is cutting off access to the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The washout has closed off traffic in both directions on Highway 4 about five kilometres from the Ucluelet Junction since Friday afternoon.
The highway is the main access road connecting Tofino and Ucluelet with the rest of the island, and no detour route has yet been made available.
Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne says the road closure has inconvenienced some people, particularly tourists who have either extended their stay or cancelled their trips, but is otherwise not a cause for concern.
She says having one main access road to the rest of the island has always posed a challenge and the community’s emergency planing accounts for that.
Engineers are expected to be assessing the site on Saturday and Osborne says residents are waiting for updates on whether a detour route will be established and when the road will be repaired.
