Highway 4 at Kennedy Hill will close at 8 p.m. today, Jan. 24, for overnight foundation work in preparation for weekend bridge installation.

When the bridge is in place, the highway will be reopened to single-lane alternating traffic, allowing commercial vehicles, RVs and other larger vehicles to move through the corridor.

Prior to bridge installation, there will be a limited opening of the highway on Saturday, Jan. 25, between 8 a.m. and noon for passenger vehicles and light pickups only.

Once these smaller vehicles have cleared at noon, Saturday, work will begin on placement of a pre-fabricated 20-metre single-lane bridge at the site. A specialized bridge crew will be working day and night to complete the install. Work will be challenging as the bridge is being placed in a narrow space between the rock bluff and Kennedy Lake.

The goal is to have Highway 4 reopened to single-lane alternating traffic to regular and commercial vehicles on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 26. The ministry, along with its contractor on site, is completing a comprehensive work plan to expedite the works as safely as possible. The ministry will update the estimated closure duration as bridge installation progresses, with updates posted to DriveBC and the contractor’s Facebook project page.

For Saturday morning’s limited opening, vehicles will be screened at the Tofino/Ucluelet junction and at Sproat Lake and larger vehicles will wide be turned around. Heavy loads, commercial trucks and vehicles with campers or towing trailers will not be let through. Drivers need to obey the instructions of traffic control personnel.

For motorists affected by the Highway 4 closure, two Emergency Support Hubs are available in Pacific Rim National Park. Combers Beach parking lot is available for semi-trailer trucks, and Green Point Campground overflow is available for RVs and campers.

The damage to Highway 4 was caused by an unexpectedly large volume of rock falling on rain-saturated ground during a scheduled blast early on Thursday, Jan. 23, as part of the Highway 4 - Kennedy Hill Safety Improvement project. The highway was closed to traffic at the time of the blast.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure thanks area residents and other people who rely on the highway for their patience and understanding.

When completed later in 2020, the Highway 4 - Kennedy Hill Safety Improvement Project will create a safer and more reliable connection between Port Alberni and the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Call 1 855 451-7152 to listen to the travel information hotline message, updated daily during construction.

Learn More:

General project information and traffic schedules is available: www.gov.bc.ca/highway4kennedyhill

Visit the project page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eac.bc.ca.kennedy.hill/

Follow @DriveBC and #BCHwy4 on Twitter or visit: www.drivebc.ca

For more information on the Emergency Support Hubs for commercial truck drivers and RVs and campers, contact Pacific Rim National Park Reserve at 250 726-3524.