Thousands of motorists were trying to get through the Cameron Lake stretch of Highway 4 Thursday, ahead of the bulk of holiday traffic that’s expected to set out for the west coast this long weekend, and face long delays due to the stabilization of the rock bluff that was damaged by the Cameron Bluffs wildfire.

To allow for increased long weekend traffic, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure planned to open Highway 4 to single lane alternating traffic from 5 p.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Tuesday. 

It’s a move intended to reduce long line ups.

According to officials, the rock scaling work needs to be done now to ensure that the Highway 4 corridor can be safely counted on this winter.

Highway 4 is expected to re-open to both lanes of traffic by mid-August.