Thousands of people faced long delays travelling into and out of Victoria on Thursday after a fuel truck and a van collided about 11 a.m. on the Trans-Canada Highway at Goldstream Provincial Park.
Traffic was halted in both directions at the crash scene near Finlayson Arm Road. There were early estimates that the highway would reopen at 10 p.m. Thursday, but that was pushed back, with Drive B.C. posting a revised estimate of between midnight and 2 a.m. Friday.
The driver of the van, who was briefly trapped and needed help to be freed, was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, RCMP said. The truck driver was taken to hospital with what were described as minor injuries.
West Shore RCMP Const. Matt Baker said the truck leaked fuel after flipping onto its side and hitting the van. He said the van had “significant” damage.
A hazardous-materials crew was part of the response, and the collision area was declared a “hot zone” by the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Environment. A hot zone is a restricted area, considered highly dangerous because of the release of a substance.
However, an Environment Ministry spokesman said Thursday evening that only about five litres of furnace oil was spilled from the truck and there was no impact to the environment.
Detours were available via Finlayson Arm Road and the Pacific Marine Circle Route, which goes through Sooke, Port Renfrew and Lake Cowichan. Drive B.C. estimated taking that route from Langford to Duncan would take about three hours, versus about one hour on the Malahat.
Some people were in lineups for hours waiting before seeking alternate routes or cancelling their journeys when they learned the highway wouldn’t open until the next day. The Ministry of Transportation said workers handed out water to stranded motorists, letting them know about estimated wait times and detour routes and checking on anyone with possible health issues.
Many opted to try B.C. Ferries. For most of the afternoon, that meant three-sailing waits in Brentwood Bay for the 20-vehicle ferry that crosses Saanich Inlet to Mill Bay.
Three extra sailings were added to the route to help deal with demand, said B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.
She said others were catching the ferry from Swartz Bay to Fulford Harbour on Salt Spring Island, then heading to Salt Spring’s Vesuvius Bay terminal and taking the ferry to Crofton. Both routes had one-sailing waits late Thursday afternoon.
Rev. George Tolias told CHEK News that he had been heading to Ladysmith when he ended up stuck on the south side of the Malahat.
“One of my parishioners is very seriously ill over there. I’m on my way to give the last rites.”
Tony McCauley, also stuck in traffic, said: “I’m so close to home, yet so far. I’ve been saying this for years — and I’m sure everybody else has — why don’t we have another way out of Victoria?”
Some drivers quickly headed into Brentwood Bay to catch the ferry once they heard that the Malahat was shut down. They included Chris Irving, who said: “I turned around and came straight here. I didn’t want to get stuck in Victoria for the evening.”
The situation was similar to a 2011 crash involving a Columbia Fuels tanker truck that hit a rock wall and ended up on its side while heading through the park, closing the Trans-Canada Highway for six hours.
About 43,000 litres of gasoline and 700 litres of diesel spilled into the park and the Goldstream River.
In the aftermath, thousands of young chum salmon were found dead, leading to the 2013 failure of an entire batch of chum to return to the river to spawn.
Columbia Fuels responded by spending more than $2 million for cleanup at the park. The truck driver pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and violating the Fisheries Act, resulting in a three-month conditional sentence and 200 hours of community service involving fish conservation.
