Quote:
Originally Posted by cornholio
As someone who travels to the Sunshine Coast several times per month and understands the area well this study is long over due. At the end of the day once this study is done it will recommend a fixed link connection via Squamish or a 2 km bridge near Portea Cove / Furry creek, both to Port Mellon. Through Squamish it would connect Wood Fiber to the city, something the LNG project wants and which makes it easier to push the project through, but there are some nasty slopes there and it would add to the trip time. A bridge near Portea Cove would be inexpensive but it would miss wood fiber and have some nimby opposition regarding the 2-3km bridge, but the router would be much quicker and miss most of the most challenging slopes. I figure the costs either way for a two lane sfe modern highway with a few passing lanes in the valleys would be in the $1 billion range and be worth every penny. Obviously no connection will ever be built across the islands due to costs/depths/island trusts/etc., but it still needs to be studied so that all the options can be compared.
As for the ferries they would be taken out of service, refitted for LNG like all the other ferries and re introduced in to service on other routes for another decade or two of their remaining life.
I will tell you 100% that a fixed link be recommended and I my guess is it will be built within a decade of this study. It is long over due. Th economic benefits to the SSC and province will pay for a fixed link 100 times over.
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This sounds pretty precise to me. The designs that spooked me were the ones going through Bowen and Gambier.
Just a couple of questions, though.
Might this 'long way round' become an issue for people who need to take the road frequently? Or for any of the surrounding communities?
Secondly, as you mention removing the current car ferries, would a system of fast, passenger-only ferries be at all plausible?