A number of B.C. bridges need to be replaced or repaired in the coming months.
A lot of the province’s infrastructure is in need of replacing – the Patullo Bridge among them.
Another major transportation route, the Massey Tunnel, will need to be replaced sooner rather than later as well.
B.C.’s new Transportation Minister, Todd Stone, says he is going to make his views very clear to the federal government that these things need to be replaced.
“All of this is a balancing act,” he said. “Our number one priority is the safety of the existing infrastructure, making sure it’s in good condition for the travelling public. Obviously though we’re wanting to do everything we can from an infrastructure perspective.”
Not just bridges and roads need repairing or replacing either.
BC Hydro is in the middle of a multi-billion dollar exercise to upgrade and maintain their dams transmission lines and generation facilities.
“They’ll spend about six, a little more than six billion dollars in the next three years on infrastructure, but you have to remember that many of the assets that are being maintained, improved, or replaced, were built in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s,” said Energy Minister, Bill Bennett.
In B.C., the costs will total billions and billions of dollars over the years, and the job will never ever really be over.
– With files from Keith Baldrey
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