It’s been raised many times in the past, and it’ll likely continue to be a hot topic as long as Vancouver Island remains separated from the mainland (which will probably be a very long time). We’re talking, of course, about building a connection across the Georgia Straight. The fixed link has been a fixation for us, Islanders and island visitors for decades.
A Bridge
Common suggestions include building a bridge, like Prince Edward Island’s Confederation Bridge. It seems like an easy choice. After all, it’s being done elsewhere, and how much cheaper and easier would it be if we could just drive to and from the Island without having to worry about taking a ferry? Once we start looking a little closer, though, things get a lot more complicated.
The Confederation Bridge, for example, is about 13 kilometres long, and its supports go into a solid rock foundation in relatively shallow water (about 35 metres deep). Compare that with crossing the Georgia Strait, where you’re looking at a crossing of up to 26 kilometres and depths of up to 365 metres. That’s deeper than the Eiffel Tower is tall. And even when you reach the bottom, it’s not a nice, solid foundation – you’ve got to go through many metres of silt before you get there. It’s also an active shipping channel, prone to seismic activity, extreme waves and high winds… not exactly ideal conditions for a bridge.
A Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel connecting France and the UK, is talked about a lot, so let’s take a look at that first. As it turns out, it’s not a very good comparison, as it’s only 75 metres deep at its lowest point. A better example might be Japan’s Seikan Tunnel, which at about 50 kilometres long and 240 metres deep is the longest and the deepest operational rail tunnel in the world. There’s also the Eiksund Tunnel in Norway. At nearly 300 metres down, it’s the deepest undersea road tunnel in the world, but it’s not even eight kilometres long. When you start to look at these stats, it really becomes apparent just how unique our situation is. There really is no comparison out there for a tunnel on the scale that we’d have to build.
Other Ideas and Considerations
Other ideas that have been talked about include a floating bridge and a floating, submerged tunnel. Both options have serious challenges, as the technology to build and operate them safely is still unproven, and therefore, at this point, neither look like a good option.
Oh, and the cost? A toll would be needed in order to pay for the construction, maintenance, rehabilitation and insurance over the fixed link’s 100-year expected life span. The amount of the toll would depend on the total cost of the project, but initial estimates run from a low of $180 to a high of $800. And that’s just one way.
If you’d like to find out more about the study we’ve done on the fixed link, we’ve got a web page called A Potential Fixed Link to Vancouver Island. It should be interesting reading for anyone who has been as fixated on this topic as we have.
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