“We are seeing a huge problem here,” says North Cariboo — Prince George MLA Sheldon Clare in his opening address to residents at a Town Hall meeting on Friday night [January 17].
Clare’s town hall meeting was to present his findings on the state of the bridges and roads in and out of Quesnel, and explain why the North — South Highway Interconnector needs to be passed through legislation to become a “project in progress.”
Joining the meeting was Langley — Abbotsford MLA and Transportation Critic Harman Bhangu.
“It is time for politicians to start rolling up sleeves and get things done,” Clare stated as he showed slides of the bridges showing holes in concrete. Photographs of concrete falling into the river as pickup trucks drive over the bridge, and supports that are only being held up by paint, rust, and eroding bolts.
Over 100 people filled the Quesnel Senior’s Centre, sharing their deep concerns about the state of the roadways. Many residents of Quesnel voiced feelings of “neglect” and “abandonment” by the government.
Many of the projects have stalled necessary infrastructure the region has needed for decades, that Clare calls “indicative of the whole province.”
“The Quesnel North — South Interconnector is a critical part in Northern infrastructure,” says Clare. “The problem with our Highway 97 corridor is we have so many choke points on it that make it difficult for large industrial vehicles and equipment to be mobile, to be getting where they need to be to support mining and forestry.”
Both MLAs were pleased with the turn out. Expressing gratitude to hear from the residents, saying they felt they had “strong information” they could bring forward to legislature.
“I was thrilled by the attendance,” says Bhangu. “One thing that really stood out to me, and something that is lost in the Lower Mainland, is that when we have a route that is shut down and we need to get to the hospital or school, it might just be another one or two kilometres more. Here in the north, it completely different.”
“A 25 kilometre trip, has now become 50 or 60. It’s kind of as if the North has been left behind. More people in the south need to resonate with the North.”
A roughly calculated estimate total costs of all the road projects needed in the region came to a total of $2.8 billion.
“One of the bridge [or] tunnel projects, that’s just one project in the Lower Mainland,” says Bhangu. “When you look at it, [an estimated] $2.8 billion could [potentially] fix all the projects up here, which could get us ahead.”
One group that has recently formed is the Quesnel — Hixon Recovery Association, made of residents who live in the region. During a period where they got to share the living conditions they live through on a daily basis.
They group has started a petition to take to the government in hopes to reopen the Quesnel Hixon route to Prince George. What the residents say is a “crucial alternative secondary route.”
“When Highway 97 is shut down because of an accident for hours and hours, everything comes to a dead stop,” says Barb Bachmeier, CRD Director for Electoral Areas A and B. “Groceries, medical supplies… everything is stuck on the highway. No resources are going down north south. We need the critical infrastructures of the Quesnel Hixon road to be put back so that at least there’s an alternative route.”
With the concerns voiced and evidence gathered in their tours, the MLAs feel strongly that they can go back to legislation and start “pushing for the changes that need to happen.”
Premier David Eby and Minister of Transportation and Transit Mike Farnworth were invited to the town hall, and were planning on attending. However, pressing concerns with matters in the United States and forced them to cancel.
–Files by Teryn Midzain, My Cariboo Now
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