Idea of Island bridge simply out of reach
To the Editor,
Re: Island dwellers need a bridge, March 14.
The P.E.I. Confederation Bridge was part of a constitutional deal.
It took 120 years to be realized, it’s 12.9 kilometres long and the sea is about 35 metres at the deepest.
It was built from 1993-96 for $1.3-billion and the toll for a two-axle car is $44.50 this year return.
The toll is only a small portion of the overall maintenance budget. Without the federal government, the toll would be $110 return.
A bridge from Vancouver Island to B.C.’s mainland would be more than three times as long and in water at its deepest of 156 metres. So the bridge would be also about three times taller.
If we could engineer it, the budget would probably more than $10 billion. The bridge maintenance budget would exceed current ferry fees.
Reduce the experience to a single point crossing, take in the pollution and add an earthquake threat, and me thinks we shelve the silly idea.
Victor Blazevic
Nanaimo
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