British Columbia's enormous effort to speed the partial reopening of Highway 4 on Vancouver Island - closed for upwards of two weeks due to a wildfire - is another illustration of the dramatic costs tied to climate impacts, says an economist.
“It's a huge hit to the restaurants, hotels, and all the services that would normally be making money at this time of year and potentially jeopardizes their whole summer,” said Marc Lee, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives .
The route was closed for safety reasons June 6 after a wildfire tore across steep, rocky bluffs above the highway stretching along Cameron Lake, dropping charred trees and large rocks hundreds of feet onto the roadway. Workers, households and businesses collectively lost an estimated $1.5 billion to $2.6 billion as a result of the cumulative emergencies, the study said.
The highway reopened Friday at 3 p.m., and pilot cars will lead the single-lane alternating traffic on a rotating basis 24/7 along the two-kilometre Cameron Lake stretch of road, the province said, adding drivers should expect lengthy delays and ensure they have sufficient fuel, water and food. To maintain the supply chain for essential goods to the isolated communities, the province established a twice-daily piloted convoy for commercial vehicles and made road improvements along a four-hour-long detour route using gravel forestry roads that will remain open until the highway is fully open.
“It's too early to provide an estimate of the costs and the breakdown,” the ministry said in an email.Beyond the costs of climate impacts, the provincial and federal governments need to be investing more aggressively in reducing fossil fuel use, particularly liquefied natural gas provincially, and into large-scale, prioritized adaptation measures, particularly around public infrastructure like highways, bridges and dams to make them more resilient, Lee said.
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