West Coast – The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure announced that the Kennedy Hill section of Highway 4, which has been under construction since the fall of 2018, will soon open to two-way traffic.
The announcement came in a November 22 Ministry update on the project which was originally scheduled to be complete by fall 2020.
The 1.5 section of highway is being made safer and will include a rest area with washrooms.
“The road has been straightened and flattened, with better visibility, wider travel lanes and shoulders, and new roadside barriers between the highway and Kennedy Lake,” according to the ministry statement.
They went on to say that, weather permitting, two-way traffic will start flowing again this winter on the Kennedy Hill section of Highway 4, reducing delays for people travelling between Port Alberni and the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The Ministry of Transportations says the project, which is now more than 90% complete, has removed overhanging rock, which was a hazard for commercial vehicles and a source of rockfalls onto the highway. A new rest area with washroom facilities and viewpoint will be accessible for all vehicle types. An improved drainage system will meet new standards that increase resiliency to the changing climate.
The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2023. Once both lanes are open, traffic impacts will be reduced to nighttime closures and minor interruptions during the day.
For up-to-date information on Highway 4 conditions, visit DriveBC.
