THE BC Liberals on Thursday slammed the NDP for its “mismanagement of the Massey Tunnel replacement after newly-appointed Transportation Minister Rob Fleming failed to confirm whether a replacement of any kind will be built within the next decade.”

“After cancelling the existing plans for this much-needed project when they first came into office, the NDP have consistently dragged their feet and knowingly delayed the process of finding an alternative solution for commuters,” said Michael Lee, Transportation Critic and MLA for Vancouver-Langara. “The Massey Tunnel is the worst traffic bottleneck in B.C. and a replacement for the aging crossing should have been started years ago. Now, we see that the new Transportation Minister cannot even reassure British Columbians that there will be a replacement built within the next ten years.”

The NDP promised that a business case for the tunnel project would be completed this fall, but it has yet to be made public. During the most recent election campaign, the NDP also promised that federal funding would be in place by the end of this year, however, there have been no updates on the status of this funding, the BC Liberals said.

“Commuters in Delta and other communities south of the Fraser have been waiting years for a replacement to the congested and seismically-unsafe Massey Tunnel,” said Ian Paton, MLA for Delta South. “It is extremely concerning that after making more promises to my community during the election, all signs point to the NDP further delaying this project. A Massey Tunnel replacement is long overdue, and it is time for this government to honour its commitments to this region.”