UPDATE: The road was closed at 8 a.m. Friday and will be reopened from 8 a.m. to noon Jan 25 limited to passenger vehicles and light pickups only. Screening at Tofino/Ucluelet junction and Sproat Lake. The plan is to reopen Highway 4 to commercial vehicles in the afternoon of Jan 26. Next update Saturday at 10 a.m. sa国际传媒� Drive BC
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Ucluelet mayor Mayco Noel is encouraging his community to remain calm during a road closure thatsa国际传媒檚 cut the town off from supplies since Wednesday night.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 100 per cent comfortable that we will navigate through this. Itsa国际传媒檚 going to take some calmnesssa国际传媒e just need to work together and be a little bit patient while we overcome this hardship over the next 24 hours,sa国际传媒� Noel told the Westerly News Friday morning. sa国际传媒淚 think that wesa国际传媒檇 have a big thing to worry about if we didnsa国际传媒檛 have hydro electricity right now, plus this going on. That would be a double-whammy. Theresa国际传媒檚 no need for alarm other than the inconvenience of missing appointments and scheduled goods and services going back and forth.sa国际传媒�
The only highway connecting the West Coast to the rest of Vancouver Island was shut down in both directions by a rockfall during the early morning hours of Jan. 23.
B.C.sa国际传媒檚 ministry of transportation opened the road to sa国际传媒渆ssential travel onlysa国际传媒� from noon to 8 p.m. on Friday, but only passenger vehicles and light pickup trucks would be let through as crews work to install a bridge in the affected area.
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That means food trucks are shut out of the community and the Ucluelet Co-opsa国际传媒檚 fresh produce aisle was nearly bare on Friday afternoon, with a note posted advising customers that the shelves would not be restocked until the road reopens.
Noel acknolwedged that he is sa国际传媒�100 per cent concernedsa国际传媒� about the lack of goods coming into town, but added the district office has been in touch with the Co-op and other service providers and is assessing the situation.
sa国际传媒淭oday, wesa国际传媒檙e not out of groceries. Tomorrow, wesa国际传媒檙e not out of groceries. Wesa国际传媒檙e trying to get an understanding of how much fuel there issa国际传媒hose kinds of things are being asked and wesa国际传媒檙e just trying to monitor it,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭he ministry is working their best to get those trucks and traffic going and, I think, as the day unfolds, obviously things like sa国际传媒楬ow do we get heavy trucks, fish trucks, dairy trucks and Amazon trucks over that pass,sa国际传媒� will come up and that will be something wesa国际传媒檒l be able to answer a bit better later on in the day or early [tomorrow] morningsa国际传媒e have a group of professionals working on the problem trying to come up with a solution to allow us the same access we had prior to the incident.sa国际传媒�
He noted some have suggested bringing in goods by barge while the highway is closed, but added that might not be possible this time of year.
sa国际传媒淯nfortunately, itsa国际传媒檚 January and barges and car ferries, as much as you may want to turn one on, it doesnsa国际传媒檛 mean that one can come around through Eagle Passage and into the mouth of Ucluelet here. That is all weather dependentsa国际传媒f you wanted a barge today, is it going to be able to get through there with the weather forecast at 35 knots with three to four metre seas? Wesa国际传媒檙e still held hostage,sa国际传媒� he said.
sa国际传媒淧ersonally, I donsa国际传媒檛 think wesa国际传媒檙e going to need a barge. Theysa国际传媒檙e working aggressively to get the temporary [bridge] structure in and thatsa国际传媒檚 the focus that the ministry is working on. We will definitely be in the background talking about those barge things and stuff. The preference is, they put a bridge in there and we can gain access and get back to our merry lives.sa国际传媒�
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He added the ministrysa国际传媒檚 announcement on Friday morning that a bridge will be installed brought him sa国际传媒渃omfortsa国际传媒� and he commended the ministry for keeping the community updated throughout the closure.
sa国际传媒淭he communication with the ministry is excellent when theresa国际传媒檚 a major upset, like wesa国际传媒檙e having here and the last few that wesa国际传媒檝e had. They try to keep us informed in detail with whatsa国际传媒檚 going on and what theysa国际传媒檙e doing because we all want to know,sa国际传媒� he said.
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Tofino mayor Josie Osborne expressed similar sentiment, telling the Westerly that the ministry and its contractors sa国际传媒渁re doing their very best in an incredibly challenging situation.sa国际传媒�
She said the current focus is to get the highway reopened to single lane traffic as soon as possible and keeping residents informed, which she acknowledged has been difficult due to the uncertainty of how long it will take for the road to reopen.
sa国际传媒淔or we, the public, our patience and understanding are really important right now and, after the incident is over, we will take the time to debrief and learn so we can do even better if there is a next time,sa国际传媒� she said.
She added the closure shows the need for West Coasters to be prepared.
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sa国际传媒淭his closure is again another important reminder about personal and family preparedness, and this goes beyond physical preparedness but also thinking about the emotional toll that events like this can take on us, our friends and our neighbours,sa国际传媒� she said.
sa国际传媒淓mpathy for those who feel anxiety, or whose livelihoods are being impacted is important. Itsa国际传媒檚 a time to be understanding and reach out to see how we can help others cope, keep things in perspective, and to try to step back from the temptation to criticize or place blame in the heat of the moment. As with other incidents, I am proud of the way West Coasters are demonstrating their resilience, looking out for each other, and helping to take care of those folks who have been sa国际传媒渟tucksa国际传媒� here in paradise.sa国际传媒�
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The rockfall that closed the highway was brought on by a mishap during scheduled blasting work being done as part of the provincial and federal governmentsa国际传媒檚 ongoing $38 million Kennedy Hill Safety Improvement project.
The project is expected to be complete in the summer of 2020.
sa国际传媒淥verall, I remain very satisfied with the way the construction project has unfolded, despite having several unanticipated closures like this one. The Ministrysa国际传媒檚 communication with local government and agencies like Island Health has been very good, and communication to the public has greatly improved over the first unanticipated closure, for example with flaggers being placed at Sproat Lake and the Junction a lot sooner than in the past,sa国际传媒� Osborne said. sa国际传媒淭here is always room for improvement, and no doubt we will have feedback for the Ministry after the event.sa国际传媒�
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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