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Home in Sweden tells Massey Tunnel secrets

Who would have thought original schematic diagrams, photos and brochures of the George Massey Tunnel would be stowed away in the shed of a house in a small town in Sweden. Lifelong Richmond resident Wayne Phillips did.
tunnel
Wayne Phillips thought to contact his childhood friend Ingvar Mellquist, whose father Curt worked as an engineer on the Massey Tunnel when it was constructed in 1959.

Who would have thought original schematic diagrams, photos and brochures of the George Massey Tunnel would be stowed away in the shed of a house in a small town in Sweden. Lifelong Richmond resident Wayne Phillips did. 

He recalled his childhood friend Ingvar Mellquist, whose father Curt worked as an engineer on the tunnel when it was constructed in 1959. After playing as children in a Richmond subdivision, Mellquist now lives in Sweden, his native country.

“In the back of my mind I thought, ‘maybe they have something.’ The Liberals looked like they were going to bulldoze ahead and when the NDP-Greens got in [government], it dawned on me maybe I should check with Ingvar, in case there was something laying around,” said Phillips, who has copied documents sent by his friend to Doug Massey — son of politician George Massey, the tunnel’s namesake — who’s also an activist proposing to keep and remediate the existing tunnel.

Now, nothing that came out of the Swedish shed is a smoking gun in favour of a twinned tunnel, noted Phillips.

But there is a glimpse of why the tunnel was built over a bridge, according to a brochure:

“A tunnel is better suited to the deep, loose sand foundation conditions at the site; it requires vehicles to deviate only 80 feet from the horizontal, whereas a bridge would require trucks to climb 160 feet.”

And while engineering technology has changed over the past 60 years, Phillips, 68, contends the now under-review 10-lane bridge proposal didn’t adequately consider other options.

“The Liberals decided to just go ahead, without checking infrastructure things and going against the mayors’ group opinion, with the exception of Delta.

“You read a lot of horror stories, and there are quite a few opinions on this. But a lot don’t seem to be based on fact; they’re just gut feelings,” said Phillips.

The City of Richmond contends it wants the new NDP provincial government to review the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project, including looking at a new twinned tunnel option, which will cost approximately the same as a new bridge.

Without a light rail system to move people out of cars, government papers on the project show any new, expanded crossing will be congested by 2045. And so, Phillips notes some things never change, recalling the pre-tunnel ferry line-ups to cross the river.

“I remember as a kid, not being on the ferry, or what we did in Delta, but waiting in the line up to Steveston Highway,” he quipped.