VANCOUVER — Premier John Horgan said his government will work with a group of Metro Vancouver mayors and First Nations who say they want to see the new George Massey crossing expedited and tunnelled, instead of building a bridge.
“[They are] now united, not just in terms of the need for improvements at that pinch point, but also on the technology that they’ll accept,” Horgan told reporters on Thursday. “I think we’re in a really good place, and if we keep working hard we’re going to get the result we’ll need.”
The province decided in September 2017 to cancel the $3.5-billion, 10-lane bridge that the B.C. Liberals had planned to build as a replacement for the aging Massey Tunnel — a project Horgan said was not tenable and caused divisions in the region — and conduct a technical review.
The resulting report, prepared by engineer Stan Cowdell and released in December 2018, recommended the province look at a six- to eight-lane bridge or a new tunnel of up to eight lanes as options for a new crossing to replace the tunnel between Delta and Richmond. It said the existing tunnel could be refreshed and used in conjunction with a new tunnel of up to four lanes.
Since then, the province has consulted with municipalities and First Nations in Metro Vancouver, and a business case for some kind of replacement is expected to be prepared by 2020.
A letter drafted by the City of Delta and signed by the mayors of Delta, Richmond, Vancouver, Surrey and White Rock, as well as the chiefs of the Tsawwassen First Nation and Musqueam Indian Band, and released this week appeals to the province to take faster action on dealing with congestion at the crossing.
“The No. 1 concern of the group is not waiting for a lengthy period of time,” Delta Mayor George Harvie said. “Right now, we’re looking at a solution into possibly 2030. That’s just not acceptable.”
The letter recommends that the crossing be tunnelled and have six lanes for regular traffic and two lanes dedicated to rapid bus, with dedicated facilities for cyclists and pedestrians. The rapid bus lanes should be able to be converted to rail in the future.
The mayors and chiefs said the project should be completed in a timely manner, by 2025 or 2026.
Horgan said the province would work on a solution as soon as possible, but stopped short of saying the government would meet the mayors’ and chiefs’ timeline.
He said he believes they will be able to move quickly now that there is agreement, but didn’t commit to either a bridge or a new tunnel.
