It didn’t take long for senior Delta bureaucrats to copy Trump-style politics in regards to the George Massey Tunnel replacement.
Both Delta CAO George Harvie and Fire Chief Dan Copeland have told a very welcoming Delta council that the tunnel is not a safe enough crossing.
Really?
The structural engineers I have communicated with say the opposite, that the tunnel is very safe, safer than many other bridges in the region, such as the aging Queensborough Bridge and the downright decrepit Pattullo Bridge.
The question should be asked, what is the rate of accident and or deaths with other bridges in the region, when compared to the Massey Tunnel?
Certainly the Alex Fraser Bridge/Nordel Way complex see far more accidents and deaths than the Massey Tunnel, yet there is largely silence from Delta council about safety.
There is only one reason to replace the Massey Tunnel and that is to dredge the Fraser deeper to allow deep draft Panama Max LNG and Bitumen tankers and colliers to sail up the Fraser.
The tunnel replacement project is nothing more than a tawdry $3.5-billion political deal between the premier and the Port Authority.
It seems that Delta Council is taking its orders from the Premier’s Office and the Port Authority, using cheap scare tactics to deliberately misinform and scare the public as done in a recent election south of the 49th.
D. Malcolm Johnston, Delta