IT will be another long, hot summer for drivers trapped in never-ending gridlock at one of the most congested traffic points in B.C., with the much-needed replacement for the George Massey Tunnel still more than seven years away from completion due to the NDP’s decision to scrap the replacement bridge project in 2017, BC United said on Tuesday.
“Enough is enough, Lower Mainland commuters are fed up with the NDP constantly saying progress is being made on the Massey replacement project as they continue to sit stuck in ever-worsening gridlock,” said Trevor Halford, BC United Critic for Transportation. “If the NDP hadn’t cancelled the project, people would already have been using the new bridge crossing for more than a year. It’s time to get people moving.”
According to a 2017 government factsheet, every year drivers spend more than a million hours delayed and idling in the Massey Tunnel gridlock.
“Earlier this month the NDP Minister of Transportation issued a press release claiming that issuing a request for qualifications was a ‘major milestone’ but I’m not sure who’s buying that — certainly not my constituents in Delta who are still waiting to see any signs of shovels in the ground,” said Delta South BC United MLA Ian Paton. “My constituents are fed up and they’re looking for results, instead of the self-congratulatory spin we continue to hear from [Premier] David Eby and the NDP government.”