Not to look a gift bridge in the mouth, but last Friday's announcement by Premier Christy Clark raises a whole bunch of questions in these parts. With the type of structure and its location now decided, I guess the biggest question, the concern over whether we'd ever see a new crossing, appears to have been answered, but many smaller ones persist.
One of the most prevalent queries is why, when river crossings are in such short supply in the region, would we get rid of a perfectly good tunnel? OK, so maybe that's too flattering a description of the antiquated tube, but four lanes across the Fraser are not something to be discarded lightly.
Rather than adding and subtracting, why not just increase the number of lanes across the river by locating the bridge further upstream, perhaps as a connection to the South Fraser Perimeter Road? I suspect the fact the tunnel will need some significant work in a decade or so is one reason not to keep it around in the long term, but the more likely rationale is because bridges are far more shipfriendly than underwater tubes, which then opens up the river to larger, oceangoing vessels.
Given three lanes can't adequately handle rush hour now, I worry an eightlane bridge (four in either direction) would be outdated by the time it opens. The YouTube video on the provincial government's website shows the new bridge with five lanes in either direction, so that's comforting - as much as a computer simulation can be - but given there won't be that many lanes on Highway 99, nor at the Oak Street Bridge, does it not just move the choke point somewhere else along the corridor? The simulation has one lane earmarked for transit and carpools, which is also heartening, because if we continue to cater to single-occupancy vehicles, we'll never be able to build our way out of traffic congestion.
And what about the River Road exit into Ladner? I'm far from an engineer, but surely the grade of the bridge precludes a ramp so close to the water's edge, which means many southbound drivers will have a roundabout way into town to match their roundabout way out of it.
Finally, how the heck are they going to build a bridge virtually over top of it and keep the tunnel open for traffic at the same time? Not only will the tie-ups be of the historic variety, but if driving through the tunnel gives you the creeps now, do you really want to be doing so when crews are drilling pilings for the new bridge?
