A Bridge from Nowhere

Back in 2005, Alaskan U.S. Senator “Uncle Ted” Stevens and U.S. Representative Don (“Mr. Pork”) Young managed to have $231 million included in an appropriations bill to partially fund the Gravina Island Bridge, a proposed $398 million bridge to replace the ferry connecting Ketchikan, Alaska (population 8,900) with Gravina Island, which housed the Ketchikan International Airport and only 50 residents. The bridge would have been nearly as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and taller than the Brooklyn Bridge, replacing a 7-minute ferry ride that cost $6 per car. The ensuing uproar eventually led to both political parties to abandon the use of earmarks in appropriations bills.

That bridge was called The Bridge to Nowhere.

Now we have The Bridge from Nowhere. Not for the first time, a certain resident spoke up during the economic development study town hall and suggested that what Point Roberts needed was a bridge from the Point or, failing that, a ferry service. Ignore the fact that there is a road from Point Roberts to the U.S. mainland and that as far as anyone knows, the only times the border between Point Roberts and B.C. has ever been closed or restricted was during 9/11 and the Covid pandemic, how much would a bridge or ferry cost to span the 13.06 miles between the Point and Blaine?

Using the national average bridge replacement cost of $377-$398 square foot, a fixed bridge with four lanes and shoulders and utilities would require a total deck area of about 6.9 million square feet. Given the marine environment, height clearance, seismic requirements and international waters complexity, the bridge would cost $5.2-$8.1 billion. Scaling up from the SR520 floating bridge cost of $849 million for 1.5 miles, the estimated cost for a floating bridge would range from $3.8 to $5.5 billion.

On the other hand, a ferry service seems positively obtainable in comparison. A ferry service would cost just $60-$100 million for startup costs with annual operating costs of $5-$8 million. This would be enough for a 20-30-car ferry at $40-$60 million with two terminals costing $10-$20 million at each end. The cost for the Lummi Island replacement ferry has ballooned from $50 million for a fully electric 34-car ferry to now $90-$93 million – a scaled-down version will cost about $50 million.

With Point Roberts’ 1300 residents:

• Fixed bridge cost per resident: $4.0-$6.2 million

• Floating bridge cost per resident: $2.9-$4.2 million

• Ferry setup cost per resident: $46,000-$77,000

• Annual ferry operating cost per resident: $6,200.

Here’s a bit of good news regarding Lighthouse Marine Park, though. While the county is out rounding up engineers and construction companies to build the bridge or ferry and terminals, it is estimated that a 100-foot floating dock, skookum enough to withstand summertime weather conditions in the Strait of Georgia, could be built for $100-$130,000 for an aluminum dock with a 35-year life span or $225,000 for a concrete floating dock with a 50-year lifespan. Both would be built to withstand the marine environment and comply with all environmental and regulatory conditions.

What do you say, Whatcom County? Warm up first with a dock at Lighthouse Park? Maybe throw in a lighthouse while you’re at it?

Addendum: At the townhall with the lieutenant-governor, that certain resident suggested what the Point really needed was a tunnel to Blaine. At a cost of $850 million to $1.2 billion a mile, a tunnel could cost as much as $16.5 billion. As the resident left the meeting, she breezily remarked, “It’s only money.”