Is it necessary to serve a small shipyard and channel barge traffic to the detriment of the high-volume traffic to the Johnson Street corridor with a "lift" bridge?
The waterline profile of a lift bridge is, even now, a built-in fault of a major route in and out of our city.
The land profile leading into Victoria provides an excellent rise for a solid-state bridge for most forms of traffic to pass beneath and across without interruption.
The cost of a high-profile bridge might be greater, but is hugely maintenance free. A lift unit has many areas for constant maintenance, and fault conditions can easily shut down all traffic, in addition to the frequent opening.
The lift bridge has had its day and was much valued in a time when vehicle traffic was less than half of the present volume. However, this volume now dictates the requirements of today - unimpeded traffic flow. It should not be a point to ponder; it is a reality that Victoria and our immediate regions should not have to suffer through another 100 years of a lift bridge with mile-long traffic building on both sides of our little water channel to allow a small boat to pass through.
H.M. Faa
Victoria
