Massey mess: Delta mayor frustrated with counterflow work planning

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      The mayor of Delta isn’t holding back his frustration with the recent changes to the George Massey Tunnel’s counterflow system, saying the work should have been better planned.

      The mayor of Delta isn’t holding back his frustration with the recent changes to the George Massey Tunnel’s counterflow system, saying the work should have been better planned.

      On March 11, the tunnel’s electronic lane-control system went offline and was replaced by manual operations. This was done so the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure can upgrade its system over the coming weeks.

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      The major obstacle for drivers is the installation of plastic dividers to prevent people from changing lanes in time to exit at either Steveston Highway or River Road once they get out of the tube.

      This is all adding to congestion at the crossing, which can already be a nightmare for drivers during rush hour.

      “I’m just so fed up with the continued problems we have with the George Massey Tunnel and the effects it has on my residents, residents that live in other areas,” Delta Mayor George Harvie told CityNews Thursday.

      “The work, I think, in my opinion, should have been done in off-hours, should have been done at night. Any work on the Massey Tunnel needs to be done at night and under controlled conditions.”

      For one, Harvie says there’s been “a lack of signage,” noting he’s heard from residents who’ve said they didn’t know which lane to take or have gotten stuck in one lane versus another.

      “Having to do that every day and not knowing what time you’re going to be able to get into work, that’s anxiety,” he said.

      With the temporary changes, you must be in the right lane before entering the tunnel if you want to use the first exit.

      If you need to take those exits, you must be in the right lane before entering the tunnel.

      “It’s been five days now since the work at the Massey Tunnel began and the delays haven’t eased up during the rush for Highway 99 through Delta and Richmond,” CityNews 1130 Traffic Anchor Ryan Lidemark said Friday.

      “The traffic pattern has been throwing commuters off daily as the automated counterflow system’s lights are offline for a month. The manual counterflow set-up has cones separating the lanes and this has caused problems for drivers wanting to exit on both ends of the tunnel.”

      The mayor says his staff have reached out to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, who’s reportedly said it can’t get back to them until Friday or Monday. Meanwhile, Harvie says he’s personally reaching out to Minister Rob Fleming to express his concern.

      “It was just unacceptable,” Harvie said.

      “It’s very dangerous now because motorists are finding difficulty with these delineators that are isolating everybody in a single lane. But it has to be fixed.”

      The manual counterflow operations are in place weekdays from about 5:45 a.m. until 9:30 a.m., and 3 p.m. untl 6:30 p.m.

      In addition to the temporary switch to a manual counterflow system, the ministry says the Massey Tunnel will be shut overnight between April 4 and April 8.

      The added pressure is affecting everyone, Harvie says, including himself. He told CityNews Thursday it took him an hour and a half to get from Delta to Metrotown in Burnaby — with all of his options seeing challenges.

      “I was going to go through the tunnel and as I was approaching and listening to the radio — which I advise everybody to do, in so far as the traffic conditions — and I realized that the tunnel was bad. So I thought I’d take the Alex Fraser (Bridge). The Alex Fraser was jammed because it had motorists bypassing the tunnel. So I went to the Surrey Scott Road Station, which I do once in a while. I parked my car, got on the SkyTrain, and what happens? The SkyTrain breaks down,” Harvie recalled.

      “That’s just me. Other people had probably worse problems. We need to have the ministry working better.”

      He says the delays caused by the daytime work just add to the stress many people have to deal with, between commuting, getting anywhere on time, and even getting to important meetings and appointments.

      Massey upgrades necessary, but timing is off: Delta mayor

      Harvie says he understands the upgrades at the Massey Tunnel are necessary — that’s not something he’s refuting. However, he stresses the work needs to be done during off-peak hours and ensure drivers are notified, with signage too.

      “I’m very fed up over this,” Harvie said. “This is creating a real problem and I hope the minister will take some quick action to try to get a remedy on this.”

      Looking more long-term, Delta’s mayor says the replacement of the Massey Tunnel needs to get moving.

      The current structure is set to be replaced with a toll-free, eight-lane immersed tube tunnel, with opening slated for 2030.

      However, Harvie says the aging Massey needs attention now.

      “What I’m thinking all the time: How much longer are we going to have to do this? How many years is it going to be that we’re facing these types of problems? And, again, it’s an extremely important piece of transportation infrastructure for Metro Vancouver. You can see what happens when there’s a problem in the tunnel or a problem on the Alex Fraser Bridge — or even problems on the Port Mann Bridge. It causes gridlock south of the Fraser,” he explained.

      “We don’t even have good bus service. We’ve been asking for better bus service for decades. So we don’t have options, and that’s also what frustrates me when I’m sitting here — we don’t have options like other cities have. We really, really need improvements from TransLink, and I know TransLink, through the Mayors’ Council, is working hard to get that done.”

      Harvie says prior to the counterflow upgrade work, there was a “general advisement out.” However, he tells CityNews there were no discussions with the City of Delta about how the work should proceed.

      “Again, there wasn’t even proper signage,” he said. “When we were dealing with the overpass that was struck by that truck a couple of months ago, we were working with ministry staff to find some options before they proceeded. But this one was just thrown on us in a very quick timeframe.”

      Ministry of Transportation advised stakeholders of temporary change to tunnel

      In a statement to CityNews Friday afternoon, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said it appreciates peoples’ patience while the “important upgrade” is made.

      “The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure advised the City of Delta, BC Emergency Health Services, TransLink and other stakeholders in advance of the temporary change to Massey Tunnel counterflow operations,” it said.

      “On the Morning of March 12th, an accident on the Alex Fraser Bridge diverted commuter traffic to the George Massey Tunnel, contributing to traffic congestion through Delta.

      “Traffic flow though the tunnel has improved since then, but ministry and maintenance contractor staff continue to monitor and make adjustments to the manual counterflow to make it as efficient as possible and are conducting a review of existing counterflow operations to see if additional improvements can be made.”

      The ministry noted that it is installing signage to direct drivers to the correct lanes for their exits, and informed the the Delta mayor early Friday morning.

      “Traffic volume is traditionally lighter during spring break, so drivers can expect fewer delays over the next two weeks, and the upgraded electronic lane control system is expected to be back in operation on Monday, April 8th,” it added. “The temporary lane control pickets in place to maintain safety for motorists and workers during manual counterflow will be removed once electronic counterflow operations are restored.”

      The BC Liberals, now the BC United, announced plans for the 10-lane bridge in 2013 but the BC NDP scrapped it in 2017 and is now forging ahead with a tunnel replacement, which it says should be completed in 2030, even though construction isn’t set to start until 2026.

      “We need to get the replacement for the tunnel built as fast as possible,” Harvie said. “It’s taking too long. We need a solution.”

      The Ministry of Transportation has said the current upgrades will take four weeks and will see the tunnel shut down overnight between April 4 and 8.

      With files from Monika Gul.

      Listen to CityNews 1130 for traffic updates every 10 minutes on the ones. You can also follow us on X and subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

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