The provincial government unveiled five options this week for the George Massey Tunnel replacement as the second phase of a public consultation process gets underway.
A public open house is scheduled for Saturday in Tsawwassen as consultations that began late last year now turn to exploring options to replace the 54-year-old crossing.
More than 1,100 people took part in Phase 1 of the consultation process, which included one meeting in South Delta. According to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, information and feedback gathering during the first phase was used to design five options.
. Option 1 would be to simply maintain the existing tunnel with the current lane configurations and the counterflow lane operations would remain the same.
Under this option, there would be some improvements to the lighting and other aspects inside the tunnel as well as seismic upgrades and improvements to the Highway 17 and Steveston interchanges.
. Option 2 would see the tunnel replaced with a new bridge in the same location. The new crossing would include a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists and dedicated transit and HOV lanes. The existing crossing would be decommissioned and removed.
. Option 3 involves building a new tunnel. The new crossing would be constructed adjacent to the existing tunnel, which would eventually be removed. A new tunnel would also include a path for pedestrians and cyclists as well as dedicated HOV and transit lanes.
. Option 4 would see the current crossing maintained and twinned with a bridge. The tunnel would see seismic, safety and lighting improvements while an adjacent bridge would be built to increase capacity for drivers. The new crossing would feature dedicated lanes for HOV and transit traffic as well as provide a path for pedestrians and cyclists.
. Option 5 would maintain the existing tunnel as is, with upgrades, and add a bridge or tunnel between 80th Street in Delta and No. 8 Road in Richmond.
The new crossing would connect to Highway 91 in Richmond and South Fraser Perimeter Road and Highway 99 in Delta.
For more information about the consultation process, or any of the options, visit www.masseytunnel. ca.
