The Editor,
The Massey Tunnel Replacement (The bridge) is already mandated, decided, and "a go" - thus, allowing for much larger ships to navigate and ply up/down river.
Currently, the Massey sits too high and now limits the ship size capability and we are the west end shipping door for the country.
"The bridge" replacement affords a much deeper Fraser River channel for the likes of Panamax size ships - so named for the maximum allowable sized ships plying the Panama Canal.
Larger ships will ply the Fraser with jet fuel, larger container ships and the likes will even ship coal from Wyoming, USA, to/from the Surrey Fraser Docks and off Texada Island. Already coal trains are using the rail system through White Rock.
Now add the increased environmental impact of a deeper dredged Fraser channel - increasingly sucking the tributary waters from the surrounding water ways and area; you may think we have tributary dredging problems now, just wait (fish packing plants, Ladner Harbour and the float home lifestyle will only be a figment of our imagination(s).
"The bridge" will be another Alex Fraser, or another $3.5 billion Port Mann Bridge and I will lay bets that it will cross somewhere around the north end of 62B, with Richmond's connection around No. 6 Road, allowing for easy, direct and continual access to the Knight Street Bridge, and the inner harbour container requirements. There is a bonus to this/our crossing area seeing we don't get the ice and snow out here in our Banana Belt, so no ice bombs to worry about, nor 40 car pile-ups.
At the same time, accessable/develop-able shipping industrial land in the Lower Mainland is no longer available and/or at a premium and the inner harbour is full.
"The bridge" will open up/make access-able many acres/hectares of industrial land as far up river as the Golden Ears Bridge.
The Massey is here today, gone tomorrow.
Don Bruchet Delta
