Highway 4 to fully reopen Thursday following wildfire closures

The only highway connecting Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet with the rest of Vancouver Island is set to open to two-way traffic Thursday at 5 p.m. after nearly three months of closures.

The only highway connecting Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet with the rest of Vancouver Island is set to open to two-way traffic Thursday at 5 p.m. after nearly three months of closures.

Mid-Island Pacific Rim MLA Josie Osborne first announced the reopening timeline in a social media post Thursday, calling it "the news we've been waiting for in the Alberni Valley and the West Coast."

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure later confirmed the news in a statement thanking workers and the public for their patience during repeated delays in restoring the vital travel corridor.

The highway was closed by a wildfire east of Port Alberni on June 6 and crews have been working to stabilize rock faces along the corridor since.

Workers have removed hundreds of dangerous trees and a thousand tonnes of rock debris from the area, according to the transportation ministry.

The province planned to fully reopen the highway to two-way traffic in mid-August but rain and high winds continuously delayed the work along the seven-kilometre closure area next to Cameron Lake.

A four-hour detour route was established along gravel logging roads between Lake Cowichan and Port Alberni through the Bamfield area.