It never fails

[Koastal Karl]

Whenever there a cancellations or ferry delays there are always people who have to mentioned building a bridge to the mainland! I read another article in the time colonist about it, saying they should build a bridge somewhere mid island. Then talking about how Kelowna has a floating bridge, and how easy it is for everyone else in BC. I say, dont live on an island then you moron! If people dont like the ferries and want to deal with them they shouldent be living on a island. Sorry but this stuff just ticks me off! I was sitting next to an old lady on the SOVI in the Cafeteria and said to me they should build a bridge to the mainland! It never seems to go by without someone mentioning a bridge these days or "Fixed Link" is what they said!

[Political Incorrectness]

they should do it to islands 10 minutes away but if they want to stay disconnected then you are right Karl MORONS

[Quinsam]

Ferries are a lot cheaper to run than Maintaining a Bridge.
No Bridge Ideas please.
The Mill bay ferry route could be terminated, then at Lands End they could build a Lions Gate Bridge like sturcture to Mill bay.
Or The Brentwood Bay Dock can be moved to Land's End Rd/West Saanich Rd, then have Mill bay operate there, and move the Mill bay Dock to the Actual Village, then it would be a shorter trip, and more cars would be able to go across because of the frequency of sailings, about 10 minutes sailing time, then 5 minutes to Load/Unload and set off again.

[Koastal Karl]

No bridge at all! People gotta learn! You dont want ferries, dont live on an island! You dont like the noise from the airplanes, dont live by an airport then! It's simple! God some people are stupid!

[Doug]

A bridge to Vancouver Island in todays technology is not possible. People may think a floating bridge may work, but have they thought about the seas and ship traffic that Okanagan Lake doesn't have? Probably the max height waves have reached in Okanagan Lake is...one meter maybe. They have gotten past nine in the Strait of Georgia. The roadway over such a bridge would crack and crumble into pieces if such storms were to occur. A floating bridge needs many, large pontoons, making it an easy target for large ships. The pontoons would not be able to withstand an impact from a fully speeding ferry, let alone the huge container ships that arrive up here on a regular basis. The only way to avoid the possible ship impact is to build new ports on Vancouver Island and use this new "floating bridge" to ship it to the mainland. If this bridge was to include up to six lanes of roadway and two-way train track, it may cost 10 times as much as rebuilding the entire ferry fleet, from Swartz Bay right up to Prince Rupert. Because this bridge would be floating, wind may also cause it to be unstabilized. If an earthquake like the one I mentioned late 2004 was to happen, this bridge would be completely destroyed.



A regular bridge, like the Lions Gate is the least possible of all bridges. All bridges currently in the world (including the Euro Tunnel) are set in water depths of under 100 meters, in fact, 100 is extremely deep. This bridge would be set in waters in excess of 150 meters, which may be up to 350. Look in any direction, what do you see. What is native to British Columbia's coast that is rare in urban-coastal areas. Mountains. Where there is mountains, the water is deep, that is what makes BC's coastline so beautiful, the mountains, but most people don't understand how, even the smaller Strait of Georgia, deep the water is. In coastal areas, water may as deep as the height of the surrounding mountains. This would make for extremely long towers, which may be as tall as the CN Tower. The floor of the Strait of Georgia is also soft and may be as deep as 100 meters, especially around the Fraser River Delta. The sea-walls are also very steep. I heard there is almost a vertical drop at the end of the Tsawwassen Terminal. If an earthquake such as the one I mentioned before was to happen, this bridge would be destroyed MORESO than a floating bridge.



A floating submerged tunnel is the only option i see (at the very MOST) is possible. Nothing like it has ever been built in the world. Still, this may not react very calmly in stormy weather. Because it is submerged, it probably would not need nearly as many pontoons as a floating bridge, and rather than pontoons they could be large floats. The floating submerged would be two to three times as expensive as a floating bridge.



A bored tunnel, such as that of the Euro Tunnel (Chunnel) would be way have to be over 50 kilometers long and it would have extreme pressure due to the heavy sediments and water depth. This tunnel would be left zig-zag-ed in an earthquake.



To conclude, the crossing of such a bridge would be between 20 and 26 kilometers long, more than twice as long as the Confederation Bridge (set in waters under 35 meters) and for a bored tunnel, over 50 kilometers. It would require $8-$12 billion to construct (the floating submerged tunnel may be up to $20 billion). A crossing toll of $120 (minimum) or $800 (maximum) would be payed for a one-way crossing on the bridge. There are one of two routes; Tsawwassen ferry terminal to south Galiano Island, or Richmond (Steveston) to Valdes Island. From there, more bridges would be required to connect to the Island.. A huge earthquake is scheduled to happen in the near future, an earthquake capable of demolishing any bridge. The idea is dumb, but no one knows.

[Alex]

Excellent post Doug. Finally someone explains the immense problems with a bridge to the island.

[Koastal Karl]

A tunnel, no way!! That is worse than a bridge! I like the idea of taking the ferry at not having to drive a bridge all the way to Vancouver! The ferries are more relaxing!

[Political Incorrectness]

well someday traffic is going to be so bad that ferries one day will be obsolite

[NMcKay]

never happen. just happen that more competitors will move in, and take up the slack.

[Engineer]

Hmmm
I could get a job taking tolls.

[cascade]

Land links do work in some cases - others ..... NO.

Euro Tunnel is £6Billion in the hole and Banks want to it take over.
The train link from London to Paris is OK - makes money. The Euro tunnel part - where you drive your car to Dover then onto a Train - is not making any money.

Last month - there was a price war - with the Ferries and Euro Tunnel. So for a car with 4 people - on the Ferries is £25 one way - on the Train it is £26 - return.

Fixed link - bridges - to Vancouver is a non-starter. Not enough people to make it worth while. Small links to say Deman Island - would be too expensive - for the number of people that could use it - so there will always be Ferries.

Saanich Inlet - by-pass the Malahat - Bridge link forget it - not workable at all. Money would be better spend in re-routing parts of the top section of the Malaht - but that would cost mega amounts of money - and would it be worth while, would tax payers vote it in ? I don't think so.

Some times when these ideas come up - I tend to think that people live in a dream world - where the government of the day will fix everything - at the snap of a finger.

[Quinsam]

Well, yes, that is true, but I did have the suggestion for moving the Mill bay ferry up-peninsula to West Saanich Rd and Wain Rd, then Move the Mill bay dock to the actual village, it would make a bit more money because of the frequency of ferries(about 10 minutes sailing time), no stretching required! and No bridges required, the only underwater tunnel I think on BC's coast should be the George Massey, that replaced the Vesuvius/Saltsping Queen that was originaly named the Delta Princess.

[Curtis]

...NO! NO!! NO!!! NO!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!! A bridge or a tunnel across Georgia Strait is one of the worst idea in history. One, it's too costly. Two, it would mess up cruise ships and other large boats. and Three, it would never last long!!! All i've gotta say is bridges across to Vancouver Island SUCK!!!!! BC Ferries all the way!!!! ;D

[Quinsam]

BCFerries Rules the Coast!!!
Agreed?

[Quinsam]

Minors and Majors.
BCferries rules the crossings of Vancouver, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island.
I've noticed Mill bay is the furthest BCFerry to the south, and Kwuna is the Furthest North.

[Curtis]

What about the ferries at Swartz Bay

[Quinsam]

To Vancouver?

[Quinsam]

Oh I see now, you mean this: ''I've noticed Mill bay is the furthest BCFerry to the south'', but Swartz bay is a little north of the Mill bay terminal, so the Mill Bay is the furthest ferry of BCFerries to the south.

[Curtis]

Swartz Bay all routes

[Quinsam]

huh?

[Curtis]

As in all ferry routes out of Swartz Bay Swartz Bay-SGI Swartz Bay-Fulford Swartz Bay Tsawwassen

[YZFNick]

Instead of a bridge, how about an end to the ferry monopoly? Tax credits and subsidies to anyone who creates new terminals and operates between Vancouver and the Island.

It's one thing when the government has a monopoly on an essential service, but a private corporation with a monopoly?? That is one of the dumbest ideas around! A corporation's agenda is to make as much money as possible for its shareholders. Do we really need our primary transportation (for many of us and me for 18 years of my life) in the hands of a company that will only do the minimum required by law and trying to make the most money possible with the least amount of service levels?

Enough ranting for now. A bridge would be cool, if possible. But if it's not possible with today's technology, then we shouldn't even worry about it.

[Ian]

No bridge to steveston (richmond), i live in steveston and the traffic would be outrageous, no bridge at all, it is a good idea but not feasable and not as relaxing as a ferry. Go scr*w the bridge idea.

[Doug]

To hell with the bridges. Those of you who live on the Island and find the Fraser Valley busy, get used to it because if there is a bridge built to Vancouver Island (which is impossible), it'll be just the same. "We're losing space to build up here in the Valley due to the mountains, why not move to the Island when they build a bridge?" That would be what they're thinking. From Nanaimo right down to Victoria, it will be like driving from Vancouver to Langley and then back to Vancouver. It would be absolute hell....

[Balfour]

Yeah, I do not want a bridge to Vancouver Island, I much prefer a ferry. It's more relaxing and it's an important experience as part of a visit to BC, or for growing up in BC