The information put out by Hill in regards to the increase of traffic across the Cameron St. Bridge is a little misleading.

Firstly he doesnt state where this increased traffic will come from. If you can beleive the statement made by the CN Rail Official last week, he stated that the CN Intermodal facility would load out 60 to 70 Containers a day to Prince Rupert. How can you load out 60 or 70 Containers per day and have 500 Containers per day crossing the Cameron St. Bridge. The short answer is you cant, so the numbers are B.S.

In addition if you take the CN Numbers of 60 or 70 to be true you would have to assume that only at best 30% would be loaded at the Pulp Mills, and the rest would probably come from the BCR Industrial Park and not cross the Cameron St. Bridge at all.

There is not enough business North of Prince George to support a 500 Containers per day even if he means 250 loaded and 250 empty in each direction.

Total containers loaded to China from the three pulp mills North of the Nechako last year was approx 12000, which would give you 32 loaded per day if all this business were to go to Prince Rupert BC.

In addition since the CN bought BC Rail the woodpulp that used to be trucked from Prince George Pulp and Intercon Pulp over the Cameron St., Bridge to Landtrans warehouse on First Avenue and loaded out in Railcars has been discontinued. This gives you a decrease of 20 loaded trucks per day across this bridge or approx 7488 per year. Loaded and empty would give you 40 per day.

Net gain overall maybe 32 trucks per day, hardly a number that would warrant building a new bridge.

I wish these politicians would get their numbers straight or talk to someone before they shoot from the lip.

The CN Plans to run one train per day through Prince George. One East and One West. One Container train can handle approx 250 Containers, so I assume that Hill thinks they will all be loaded in Prince George. Highly unlikey. And even if they were they would not be coming across the Cameron St. Bridge.

Keep the money Hill, what we want is a repaired Cameron St., Bridge and we want it now.

So what I'm hearing is that you want the city budget to pick up all the costs and screw the opportunity to get some costs to be picked up by the feds? Somehow I don't think your city tax bill is high enough yet for you.

I would not worry. The government will hire another US consultant to go through the math for the projeced bridge traffic the same as the are going over the projected airport traffic.

oh, wait .... maybe that is cause for worry after all ....

;-)

This would not be the first time that the city goes for a big dollar project mostly because of the funding it would receive...

I say stick with the $750,000 repair to the old bridge. Period.

You got it right trueblue. It seems some people cannot fathom the simple fact that this bridge can be repaired and up and running for $750,000.00 and it would handle all the traffic, truck and cars, the same as it has for the past 15 years.

What we would end up with would be

(A) A functioning **Heritage** Bridge, which would enhance the trail system, have some interest for tourists, and handle all the traffic that uses it with ease.

(B) We would not have to borrow 6 Million Dollars, and pay out $ 4 Million in interest over 20 years.

(C) The City has stated that they have $1.5 Million in a reserve fund to put toward the construction of a new bridge, so in effect we could use this money to repair the old one and **Walla* it wouldnt cost us a cent, in new taxes.

People need to get down to City Hall and sign the *Alternate Approval Process Form Bylaw No. 7970, to force this issue to a referendum. If we could get 5,535 signatures it would have to go to referendum, and if we could win the referendum, then the City would not be able to borrow the money, and in effect would have to repair the Bridge.

Problem is we have 27 Days to get 5535 Signatures, and the City is betting that the people will not get off their butts and sign this form.

We might be able to surprise them, however it means to move **NOW** not later.

I think Palopu has it all wrong. Unlike Palopu I don't think the city should be spending $22 million of our city tax dollars to replace this bridge.

I think the federal and provincial governments should be spending $222 million for a ring road transportation infrastructure that determines Prince George and regions economic future for 50-100 years down the road. The pot hole patching type planning currently taking place is robbing not only this region, but the whole country of economic opportunity. Mostly this region loses with polluted air shed and robbed efficiency in road infrastructure that has been paid for tenfold in gas taxes.

Palopu is wrong to assume the only traffic that would use that bridge would be from north of the city. Facts are if a container port is located in the downtown CN yards then lumber and pulp and pellets and whatever else will be coming from Vanderhoof and beyond going through town down Central St, a right on 5th Avenue, and a left on Carney St down to River Rd.

Facts are with a new bridge in place sometime in 2012 this west traffic would then turn right at Pulp Mill Rd and cross the bridge to River Rd. That is of course unless the federal government pays to move the Trans-Canada highway south of town away from the Peden Hill corridor in which case the west traffic could use the Old Cariboo highway connection.

Time Will Tell

Chandermando.

Containers from Vanderhoof or other points West of Prince George on Higway 16 would turn right at 16 and Ferry Avenue travel through South Fort George on Queensway Street to 1st Avenue and then right on first avenue the base of the Yellowhead Bridge and left into the Container Terminal. There is no reason to go through the Bypass and 5th Avenue. Logging Trucks from the West use this route all the time. If they load Containers onto Rail Cars at the BCR Site then they would cross the Simon Fraser Bridge and go to the Rail Yard there.

The Road Through South Fort George in a secondary highway, and it part of the Provincial Highway System.

So once again I say there will be no increase in traffic on the Cameron St. Bridge.