Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

FORSETH – We’re looking at least another three years for vehicles to start rolling across a new replacement Red Bridge

The province is conducting a lengthy planning and design process ~~ AI

 The Ministry of Transportation issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) Monday (Dec. 19) to “guide transportation planning options” in partnership with the City of Kamloops and Tkemlúps te Secwépemc following the loss of the 88-year-old bridge ~~ CFJC Today December 12, 2024

NINE MONTH LATER (September 18, 2025) a BC Government media release states, ‘A planning process is underway to explore options for reconnecting Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc lands and Kamloops’


ONE YEAR AGO, on Thursday September 19th, an arsonist(s) set fire to, and destroyed, the Red Bridge in Kamloops. It was the second time as an earlier attempt, two days previous, had failed to do the job.

Twelve months after the Red Bridge was deliberately destroyed, Kamloops residents are still left wondering when they’ll be able to once drive, from River Street, across the South Thompson River to access the Mount Paul Industrial area.

After all, how much planning, engineering, measuring does it take to span a couple hundred feet across the South Thompson River, where a bridge had already been located?

As far as they’ve managed to get is to once again re-announce the planning process is underway, and as yesterdays media release indicated, ‘The preferred options from the planning process are expected to be shared with the public in spring 2026.’

This Spring?  Now we’re up to eighteen (18) months – and still NO bridge!

How does that fit with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit assuring us that they, ‘... remain committed to advancing the planning process as quickly as possible ...’ 

Just think; once the ‘conceptual design for a modern replacement bridge on the original alignment’ is presented, the government is going to have to issue a Request For Proposals (RFP) so that construction companies can bid on the project.  From there, how many more months will it take to choose the winning bid?

But still, we won’t have a bridge.

Materials will have to be lined up for the new structure ... crews lined up to build it ... and then, from what I’ve heard, the construction phase will take at least two years.

So ... we’re looking at least another three years for vehicles to start rolling across a new replacement Red Bridge.

Anyone care to guess what happens in three (3) years?  

In 2008, after BC Interior residents had conducted a concerted campaign to have tolls removed on the Coquihalla Highway, Premier Gordon Campbell and Finance Minister Kevin Falcon ‘went behind the controls of a bulldozer to kick off demolition of the toll booths’ (CBC), ending years of tolls. Months later an election was called for 2009.

Looks like we’ll be holding the provinces 44th General Election (in 2028), just in time for NDP Premier David Eby (if he’s still around) to have a grand opening ribbon cutting to finally open a new bridge.  Maybe we’ll even have a spectacle with him in a hard hat and hi-rez vest, with a pneumatic or hydraulic wrench in hand, putting in the last bolt before driving across in a Ministry of Transportation dump truck.

All I can say is, this is taking a hell of a long time.  

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interfor Moves Headquarters Out of BC as Forestry Crisis Continues

NDP policies are driving businesses out of B.C., and the forestry industry just suffered yet another calamity. Interfor, a BC company founded more than 60 years ago and now one of the world's largest lumber producers, is moving its headquarters from Burnaby, BC to Atlanta, Georgia. As BC’s forestry sector faces mill closures and mounting uncertainty, this move is another warning sign that the crisis is deepening and conditions are fatal. “This is the NDP’s record: endless job losses with no hope in sight for the forestry sector,” said Ward Stamer, Shadow Minister for Forestry. “Interfor still has three mills in BC which are now in serious jeopardy, and it is likely we will see even more companies pull out of BC. The NDP government is suffocating the forestry industry with high taxes, excessive regulations, and permitting delays, while DRIPA has made it impossible to plan for the future.” “Decisions like this are sadly not surprising given the NDP’s indifference if not hostility tow...
Post a Comment
Read more

Okanagan Farmers Face NDP-Created Water Crisis ~~ BC Conservatives

Okanagan farmers are facing a water crisis as government-imposed restrictions threaten to kill their crops and destroy one of B.C.’s most important agricultural industries. In perhaps the most water-rich province in the country, our farmers have been left high and dry by the NDP government. For nine weeks, Okanagan and Shuswap farmers have proposed solutions, only to be met with NDP foot-dragging. Now forest fires have come to these regions as they are simultaneously reckoning with a water crisis that has been made worse through years of government inaction. Vernon-area farms have lost 70 percent of their water, while Kelowna and Summerland growers face severe restrictions. This situation is unacceptable and cannot continue. Ian Paton, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, said the NDP is once again forcing farmers to pay for its own failure to plan. "Farmers and ranchers must be listened to when decisions affecting their livelihoods are made, and under the NDP, they aren’t," said...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDP Hypocritically Admits Natural Gas Power Was Needed All Along ~~ BC Conservatives

The NDP just got caught buying back the exact kind of power plant it spent years telling British Columbians they didn't need. The NDP government announced today that BC Hydro is purchasing the Island Generation natural gas facility in Campbell River, an admission that its electrification-only energy policy was never realistic. The 275-megawatt plant was originally privately owned yet kept to a minimal backup role under the NDP, operating just 15 days a year on average. Now, with demand outpacing what the NDP's plan can support, the government is spending taxpayer funds on the very gas capacity it once treated as obsolete. "You cannot electrify everything and pretend natural gas doesn't matter," said Larry Neufeld, Shadow Minister for Energy.  "Buying back a gas plant they once wrote off is proof their own plan couldn't keep the lights on. It's a step towards more energy reality, but the government needs to go further and scrap the impending province-w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more