Last week, the years’-long patience of everyone affected by the gridlock of the Lower Lynn improvement project on Highway 1 was finally rewarded with the first vehicles crossing the refurbished Lynn Creek Bridge – one of the final milestones towards the October completion of the six-year project.
Once known locally as the “Orange Bridge” – it now sports a “Lion Gate Green” paintjob - the bridge has fond personal significance for me because its overhaul marks the delivery of one of my first major commitments to the people of North Vancouver as a rookie candidate in the federal election of 2015.
At the time, a three-phase project was in the works to fix the traffic-choked Lower Lynn corridor of Highway 1 just north of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge. But those plans did not go far enough because they did nothing to address the choke point where all traffic squeezed into two lanes each way
on the 55-year-old Orange Bridge.
Nor did the first three-phases address the need to separate local east-west North Shore traffic from north-south bridge traffic.
Included in platform
Burnaby North-Seymour MP Terry Beech and I, working with former District Mayor Richard Walton, successfully advocated to have this issue addressed in the 2015 Liberal campaign platform. The platform document included a commitment of federal funding for an additional fourth phase of the project, to properly address the shortcomings in the original plans.
Here's an excerpt from my North Shore News column of September 18th, 2015: “Last week, Justin Trudeau made specific mention of the need for a comprehensive approach to addressing the congestion issue on Highway 1 in North Vancouver. He cited the 55-year-old Lynn Creek Bridge as an example of the kind of local transportation infrastructure needs a Liberal government would address if elected.”
Following the election, the Government of Canada committed an additional $20 million for Phase Four which was effective in leveraging another $20 million from both the Province and the District of North Vancouver. In total, the federal government has provided $55 million of the $198 million Lower Lynn
improvement project.
The fourth phase, now nearing completion, extends the service life of the Lynn Creek bridge by at least 30 years, adds a pair of new two-lane collector bridges on either side of it to help separate regional and local traffic.
But as I noted in this column back in September of 2015: “We all know the solution to gridlock on the North Shore requires more than additional asphalt. We need leadership that fosters a broader discussion on transportation – including enhanced support for public transit – that does not turn away from the tough questions.”
Since 2015, the Government of Canada has invested more than $13 billion in 1,300 public transit projects for communities across Canada - the largest public transit investment in Canadian history. This has included significant investments in North Vancouver including B-lines, enhanced funding for buses, a new Seabus and funds for renovation of Phibbs Exchange and funding to support assessment and planning work for a future rapid transit project to the North Shore.
Permanent transit funding
In February of this year, Prime Minister Trudeau announced an additional $14.9 billion for public transit projects over the next eight years, which includes permanent funding of $3 billion per year for Canadian communities beginning in 2026.
Investments in public transit, including electrification, are also critical to Canada meeting its climate targets - since the transportation sector currently accounts for about 25 percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s personally gratifying to see the community impact of this government’s commitment to improving transportation infrastructure across the country. We’ve still got a road to travel in addressing North Vancouver’s transportation challenges, but we’ve come a long way since the “Orange Bridge.”