It all sounds so nice, we only have to pay 1/3 of the cost. Give me a break. Its all our money and its being wasted on a bridge that we don't need. Take a look at the traffic counts that have been done on the old bridge. Most of it is light traffic (cars and half tons). Like Ive said before its just payback time for the votes from the Hart. If we dont want big loads on Fifth and Carny let them use Queensway to the Bypass. Let the truckers pay their own way. I dont want my tax dollars supporting industry in this City.
The economy of Prince George has been depressed for the last ten years and is just coming out of the dumper so I guess its time to start spending like we are drunk. What will happen after the pine beetle senairio is finised and this City is face with a 200 million plus debt.
Have a nice day

Ben. I thought that at least you would be able to logically work through this issue.

1. There are really three issues here.
(a) A new bridge close to the Camerson St. crossing cost $22.4 Million.
(b) A steel super structure on the present cement piers cost $7/8 Million (Guess)
(c) Repair the present bridge at a cost of $724,000.00 which includes resurfacing. The September inspection found significant deterioration in two (2) of the bridges truss chords.

We know that the cement piers are fine for the present one way bridge, and therefore would not have to pay $190,000.00 for a feasibility study. The study is to see if the cement piers would support a one or two lane STEEL superstructure.

Crossing at Victoria or Cottonwood Island is a pipe dream. Once across the river where would the road go?? Back to the Cameron St crossing I suspect, unless you were to build a road through the cutbanks across parks and through private proerty to connect with the Hart Hiway further north.

Your point about tearing out the motor of your car because it is missing is valid, so why would you tear down this bridge rather than spend $724,000.00 to put in some new truss chords. This present bridge can be repaired and function with minimum repair costs for the next 10 or 15 years without any trouble.

The foothills bridge was build I beleive as part of a long term plan to bypass the City North and South. It was to connect to the Hart Hiway around Summit Lake north and around Stoner to the South. Negative growth in this area has killed this concept.

The Camerson St. bridge has little to do with heavy industrial traffic bypassing the City mainly because'
(a) All traffic to and from Hiway 16 and 97 West and South going to River Road, the Pulp Mills, North on 97 or East on Hiway 16 would not use this bridge.
(b) Traffic from North Nechako and Hart Hiway going anywhere other than 1st Ave or East on Hiway 16 would not use this bridge.
(c) The bridge is used mainly by lumber trucks from Bear Lake to the Pas Lumber Co. some logs from the Hart Hiway and North Nechako to Lakeland mills. A few trucks per month from FMC going East on Hiway 16, or from the Husky Refinery goint East on 16 or to River Road or 1st Avenue. Some chip trucks from The Pas Lumber, Brink Forest Products, and Lakeland Mills to the Pulp Mills. Other traffic to and from the Hart Hiway and the Pulp Mills from the downtown area. The balance of the heavy industrial traffic would continue the same as it does now. Over 90% of the traffic from the Pulp Mills is by Rail. Over 90% of the truck traffic into the Pulp Mills do not use the Camerson St Bridge.

The truck traffic and vehicular traffic using the Cameron St. Bridge is not sufficient to warrant a new bridge and an in depth study by someone other than a vested interest group would prove this conclusivly.

If you wait 2 1/2 years before a new bridge is built, you will probably have your first major accident either at 5th and the By pass or at 5th and Carney. Repairing the existing bridge to a one way facility to handle the traffic that actually uses this bridge would reduce the risk of these accidents as the bridge could be up and running this summer.

Any money received from the Provincial or Feds can be used for other infrastructure projects, such as paving, sewer, water, etc;

I think very few if any people in Prince George have the time, or would take the effort to look at this bridge situation from a common sense point of view, as it would be to much of a problem for them. How ever you can bet that the vested interest groups will not spare any effort to build a new bridge.

I wonder who will get the feasibility contract, and who will get the contract to build the New Steel Superstructure????.

A little Journalistic Investigation into this whole process might turn up some interesting information. I dont think that we should forget that the main thrust for this Bridge is Coming from the City.

For those of you who think that the pine beetle epidemic will not have much of an effect on the Prince George economy they need to check the following website http://mpb.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/research/publications_e.html
During the municipal election most of the candidates promised a new bridge. My feeling is that they had not looked into why a new bridge was needed.
I mention this beccause during the all recent candidates forum held by Ben the pine beetle question came up and one candidate said well we would have to study the problem to find what the solution should be. The web site I have listed is the Natural
Recources of Canada at the Pacific Forestry Centre and they have studied the pine beetle problem for many years.
Just to put the problem into perspective with an 18% reduction in timber harvest in the Prince George Timber supply would mean at LEAST one pulp mill would be gone.
Have a nice day

Good post Palopu. Some valid points made.

Does anyone notice that there is more concern in this town about how many fans are attending the Couger games, or where the Mayor is going on his next junket, than there is on wasting 10 Million on a bridge that is not required?? Thats why we are so far in debt. The Mayor, Councillors, and City staff know that 99% of the people in this City will not stick to an issue for more than a week, and they can therefore do pretty well whatever they want. We were able to slow them down on the Terasen Gas thing and force it to a Referendum but were unable to stop them. The same applies to all Major expenditures in this City. Next on the list of the Million Dollar Prince George extravaganza will be.

1. 6/7 Million Dollar Police Station. The Old station to be used for a performing Arts Centre.

2. 3/4 Million for a new Museum. The old one to be given to the Natives for a Cultural Centre.

3. 5 Million for the UNBC sports centre. (Citys Portion)

4. 1 Million loan to Regional District, Citys portion of payback would be 1/2 Million

5. Co-Generation $9.3 Million

6. Bylaw 7747 and 7748 Borrowing of 18 Million for various and sundry infrastructure and City expenditure programs.

7. Is the 4 Million plan for the Y still on the books??

8. 11 Million or more per year to service debt.

9 City debt before the above borrowing and excluding the Terasen fiasco, is approx 92 Million dollars. More than the City of Kamloops and Kelowna combined.

Does anyone know actually how far in debt the City actually is and how long it would take us to get out of debt. Are we in debt up to our ears for the next 20 Years or more??? Who knows. If someone does not get the facts on this issue fairly soon it will probably be to late. I suggest that when we find out all the people involved will no longer be working for the City and probably will not even be living here. We will be left holding the bag.

If anyone is counting dont forget the 6/7 Million for a new bridge. This is approx 65/70 Million spending in the next 5 years, not counting debt servicing, which for 5 years would be approx 55 Million. And of course all the additional spending that we are not aware of yet.

Question asked: "Are we in debt up to our ears for the next 20 Years or more???"

It will take a heck of a lot longer, because as you pointed out it is being added to every year!

The annual interest payable puts a big smile on the faces of the bankers and lenders who reside in some glitzy office buildings in Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal.

They don't care how we come up with the money.

That's our problem.

Colin boasted the other day that we still haven't reached our borrowing limit - so fasten your seatbelt!