Road to the Pacific Rim

Construction of roads in B.C. has always been closely associated with the trade and prosperity of isolated regions. Now that paved highways reach every community on Vancouver Island, some residents have forgotten the celebrations which accompanied each newly completed link, even as recently as thirty years ago.

One such link was the Pacific Rim Highway connecting Port Alberni with the west coast of the Island. It officially opened on September 4, 1959. But the idea for such a road had been around since early in the century.

The issue was often discussed as politicians and residents of the Albernis, Tofino, and Uculelet tried many times to secure promise of construction. But sparse population, the Depression, and World War II caused a lengthy delay.