It will bring change, that much is for sure, but I get the feeling that profound change just might be overstating things.
There's little doubt that when the provincial government builds a bridge to replace the George Massey Tunnel it will alter the landscape of our area, but efforts to paint a new crossing as a vehicle that will drive urban sprawl and reshape this municipality are overblown.
The opening of the tunnel back in 1959 was the single biggest event in Delta's history. It was a seminal moment, ushering in unprecedented growth that turned an isolated farming and fishing village into a bustling bedroom community.
Replacing that tube will come with its own imprint on the area, but it will be nothing like what transpired a half-century ago because of two huge differences between today and 1959.
Firstly, the only way to cross the Fraser River in these parts prior to the tunnel was by ferry, so the ability to drive unimpeded across the south arm was nothing short of a revelation. Making the area accessible by road dwarfs the benefits - a relief in traffic congestion, at least initially, in this part of the region - that will be realized this time around by a replacement crossing.
The second difference is the Agricultural Land Reserve. Still just a glint in Dave Barrett's eyes when the tunnel opened, the lack of farmland protection paved the way, quite literally, for urban sprawl.
Once the ALR came into place and rural-urban borders were established, the growth in these parts essentially came to a halt, and given those conditions are still in place today, a new crossing on the Highway 99 corridor simply won't have the same impact.
I liken the current situation more to 1986 when an already built-out North Delta didn't transform significantly with the opening of the Alex Fraser Bridge. That's not even a great comparison considering no river crossing existed in that spot previously, so the ramifications there should have been greater than what we'll experience here with a replacement span.
That's not to say there won't be reverberations here, including the inevitable loss of farmland for bridge construction as well as port expansion and TFN development, but it strikes me that many of the impacts will be felt in places like South Surrey and Cloverdale that are well beyond our borders.
A new bridge will open up the region, but I'm not convinced it will bring Delta a whole lot more than increased traffic.
