Editor:
So, after much deliberation a task force of regional mayors recommends replacing the George Massey Tunnel with an eight-lane tunnel. I’ll believe it when I see it, though I am probably too old.
After spending heaven knows how many dollars on approach infrastructure for a bridge, we are now going to abandon it all and build a crossing under the Fraser River, deep enough for big ships to pass over and disregarding the known negative soils conditions and seismic concerns.
Every “bridge vs tunnel” study I know of, starting with the third crossing of Burrard Inlet in the late 1960s, has determined the cost of a tunnel to be prohibitively expensive. So let’s disregard all the previous studies and go for it anyway.
Simply put, if you want the tunnel replacement to happen within the next 10 years, pick a bridge. A tunnel will be unaffordable. I guarantee it. Christy Clark had it right except that 10 lanes may have been 20 per cent too many.
Selwyn Dodd
Retired Architect
