The B.C. government has broken ground for the $3.5 billion Massey tunnel replacement project – a giant bridge – linking Vancouver with Delta.
Meanwhile, Metro Vancouver’s Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation also unveiled a vague strategy for fixing Lower Mainland traffic problems.
The mayors are opposed to the Massey tunnel replacement project, and launched a “public outreach” campaign called “Cure Congestion.”
Transportation Minister Todd Stone said the Massey tunnel replacement project is a priority, whereas the mayors want to see other projects on the front burner, including a new light rail transit system to Surrey and the Broadway corridor extension to the SkyTrain system in Vancouver.
The groundbreaking was disrupted by protesters, which included Richmond Coun. Carol Day. The City of Richmond is vigorously opposed to the plan to replace the tunnel with a 10-lane toll bridge, fearing even greater congestion.
In fact, the only mayor in the Greater Vancouver area who wholeheartedly supports the tunnel replacement is Delta Mayor Lois Jackson, who said her community has been asking for the tunnel’s congestion problem to be fixed for three decades.
The Tsawwassen First Nation also supports the new bridge, as do farmers in Todd May, president of the Richmond Farmers Institute.
The tunnel replacement will take five years to complete. It is expected to be tolled.
Stone gave assurances that the bridge will be seismically sound, and Linda Reid, Liberal MLA for Richmond East, said that when motorists are canvassed, they say they would rather be on a bridge than underground in a tunnel in the event of an earthquake. •
