Highway 4 reopens on Vancouver Island after wind endangers work cranes

The B.C. Transportation Ministry says Highway 4 has reopened after being closed Sunday due to high winds.

The ministry says the stretch of road at Cameron Lake Bluff was shut over concerns that wind made it dangerous for the cranes that hold protective mesh keeping debris off the highway.

The mesh had to be lowered during high winds, increasing the risk of debris falling onto the highway, which is scheduled to be closed again for rock scaling work Monday afternoon.

A wildfire forced the closure of the highway as debris fell on the roadway, prompting the province to open a detour route on a forest service road outside Port Alberni.

The ministry says the highway will also close for a few hours Tuesday, and will have single-lane alternating traffic overnight as crews work to reopen the route to two-way traffic by next month.

The highway is the main route connecting the communities of Tofino, Ucluelet and Port Alberni to the rest of Vancouver Island.