Originally connecting Coombs and Port Alberni, the “Alberni Highway” was originally designated as Highway 1A. In 1964 it was re-designated as Highway 4.
In 1959 a logging road was punched through the mountains between Port Alberni and the coast. Travellers eager to reach the ocean could only use the logging road on the weekends when loggers had days off. Over time, restrictions on road use eased, and Tofino became an increasingly popular destination.
In 1961 Highway 4 was officially extended from Port Alberni to Tofino, creating the longest east-west main vehicle route on Vancouver Island, with a total length of 163 km. The road was paved in 1972, making the “Pacific Rim Highway” Canada’s only paved road to the open Pacific Ocean, and Tofino the unofficial Pacific terminus of the Trans Canada Highway.
