The George Massey Tunnel replacement bridge appears to be a major, emerging provincial election issue early in the campaign.
Coun. Chak Au said Friday, he wants the provincial government to assess more options for the crossing.
“I’m not ruling out a bridge but definitely not this bridge as it is,” said Au, who was acclaimed Friday as the BC NDP’s candidate for the new Richmond South Centre riding.
At Friday’s event, BC NDP leader John Horgan wouldn’t completely rule out the existing plan, instead suggesting that the Metro Vancouver mayors’ transportation plan should be supported.
“If the mayors’ council, in their wisdom, believe this is the way to address the critical congestion issues we have, then I’m good with that, as leader of the NDP,” said Horgan.
“I’ve heard only one mayor support this project. Therefore, this is Christy Clark’s plan.”
“It clearly has not been compared to other options at this point,” added Horgan.
On Monday, the NDP claimed that the Liberals are hiding cost estimates for the bridge, including risks to cost overruns, which may result from the bridge being built on unstable soil (thus requiring more engineering for the 200-metre towers).
“Project documents obtained by the BC NDP through freedom of information laws feature large sections blanked out, including: ‘Overview of Risks,’ ‘Risk Analysis,’ and ‘Financial Assumptions and Outlook,’” stated a news release.
“This is a massive project, and an overrun would hurt British Columbians in the form of higher fees and less money for schools and hospitals,” said Richmond-Queensborough candidate Aman Singh.
To date, the Liberals have not indicated what the toll costs will be for the proposed bridge, although documents show construction is scheduled to begin this month.
The $3.3 billion Port Mann Bridge has a $3.15 per crossing toll and is operating with a $397 million debt, as of last year. The Massey Tunnel replacement bridge is expected to cost $3.5 billion and see about 20 per cent less traffic.
Horgan said he expects the Massey Tunnel replacement bridge to cost more than what is initially projected, as was the case with the Port Mann.
He pinned the final price tag at $4.5 billion, despite not seeing the censored financial risk assessment.
