B.C. Liberals promise to dump NDP Massey Tunnel, revive plan for 10-lane bridge
By The Canadian Press
Bridges
A rendering of the planned bridge. Work had started on the $3.5 billion project in 2017 before being halted post-election. PHOTO: Government of B.C./Flickr
VANCOUVER—The B.C. Liberals are promising to resurrect their previous plan when in government to build a 10-lane bridge over the Fraser River to replace the aging Massey Tunnel in Metro Vancouver.
Leader Andrew Wilkinson says the Liberals, if elected on Oct. 24, will dump the NDP’s long-delayed eight-lane tunnel proposal and start immediate on construction of the 10-lane bridge to replace the current tunnel.
Wilkinson says the bridge project will relieve the largest traffic bottleneck in Western Canada.
Wilkinson says the 10-lane bridge proposed by the Liberals when they were in government back in 2013 has already been approved and been through an environmental assessment.
He says the bridge project will be part of a Liberal government’s $8-billion capital plan, but he didn’t know when the toll-free bridge would be complete.
The NDP replied to the plan in a news release, saying changing the proposed tunnel project to a bridge risks delays and possible loss of federal funding.
