An organization that is working to have a highway connecting Powell River to the Lower Mainland is preparing to ask the provincial government to support the project.
Tom Wheeler, president of Third Crossing Society, said the group has developed a business plan. “It’s a working document that’s evolving,” he said. “We’re beginning to implement a phase where we’re soliciting more members and preparing ourselves to approach government and take our plan to them.”
The society has 70 members now, Wheeler said, a leap from November 2011 when it had nine. Recently, about 30 members attended a general meeting and received an update on the society’s activities.
The proposed road would go from Highway 101 of the Upper Sunshine Coast to Highway 99 of the Sea to Sky Highway. Called the Vancouver Island-Interior connector, it would provide access for travel and commercial activity from Vancouver Island and Powell River to the Interior and Lower Mainland, said Wheeler. It would also be an alternate route from the island and the Upper Sunshine Coast in the event of a disaster or emergency. “Those kinds of things might seem far-fetched, however we are in an earthquake zone and so is the island,” he said. “An escape route would be practical. You don’t need it until it happens.”
The road would cost roughly $225 million, Wheeler said. The general estimate for road building is about $1 million per kilometre. The road is about 215 kilometres and would need a tunnel as well. “Much of this road already exists as logging roads that only require upgrading,” he said. “The cost of the road may be seen as great, yet the cost of a declining economy may be greater.”
The road would bring a significant number of benefits to the region, Wheeler said, including job creation when it was being built. It would move people and goods between Vancouver Island and all interior points, bypassing the congestion of the Lower Mainland and boosting Powell River’s economy, as well as the Vancouver Island and Interior economies.
According to Wheeler, it would also: relieve pressure and extend the economic life of the Lower Mainland highway infrastructure; relieve pressure on and extend the economic life of the existing southern ferry infrastructure, particularly Horseshoe Bay and other terminals; improve utilization of the Powell River-Comox ferry route; and improve the economic well-being of many communities along the route.
The concept of the proposed route has been alive in Powell River for some time. In 1994 a proposed route was professionally mapped and the route was confirmed by helicopter flights. In 2001, paper reconnaissance survey work was completed and since then, digital mapping studies have been conducted and a proposed route, very similar to the 1994 route, was again determined.
Wheeler said the road is all about access. “A roadway to connect Highway 99 to Highway 101 will create that access and employment, from trade travel and tourism,” he said. “It will bring in light industry.”
Interested readers can view a video that shows a virtual flyover of the proposed route on the society’s website. Wheeler can be reached through his email, [email protected].
