Adam: Liberals should forget about building another bridge over the Ottawa River

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It is baffling why a Liberal government that has invested so much in fighting climate change is so determined to impose a new inter-provincial bridge on an unwilling city of Ottawa.

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The latest in a decades-long effort to build a sixth bridge over the Ottawa River at the east end is the start this fall of geotechnical studies of the river bed “to understand whether a site may be suitable to support the structure of a potential bridge.” The studies, costing nearly $1 million, will take place near Lower Duck and Kettle Islands and McLaurin Bay on the Quebec side of the river.

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This comes after several failed attempts by the National Capital Commission, most recently in 2013, to build a new interchange at Kettle Island. The NCC recommended Kettle Island for a bridge in 2012, but the plan collapsed after the Ontario government withdrew its support following a public outcry in Ottawa.

But the federal government never seems to get the message and has been doggedly pushing the idea. In his mandate letter after the 2019 election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directed then-public services and procurement minister Filomena Tassi to begin “addressing the demonstrated need for an additional crossing of the National Capital Region ”. The pressure has been on ever since, despite strong objections from Mayor Jim Watson, the city council and virtually every community in the city.

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But Gatineau wants the bridge, and therein lies the dilemma. After several unsuccessful attempts to bridge the far west, including Lac Deschênes and Kanata, the federal government set its sights on Kettle Island, with Lower Duck and McLaurin Bay as alternatives.

The federal government says a new interprovincial link is needed because the five existing bridges are near capacity and peak-hour congestion will worsen in the next 10 years if nothing is done. Also, a new bridge could ease truck traffic downtown.

The problem is that most of the bridge traffic would come to Ottawa from Quebec. A Kettle Island bridge, long the preferred option, would run from Montée Paiement in Gatineau to the Aviation Parkway, with traffic flooding residential communities in Manor Park, Rockcliffe and parts of Vanier around Montfort Hospital. Not surprisingly, these residents don’t like the traffic.

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Also, a 2011 report by the IBI Group, commissioned by the NCC when it was pushing for a Kettle Island link in 2012, said a new bridge would not reduce downtown truck traffic significantly. A bridge on the east end would divert 15 percent of heavy truck traffic from downtown, while one on the west end would reduce truck traffic by eight percent. “Building a new bridge would divert some of the heavy truck traffic demand. However, there would still be a significant volume of heavy traffic in the core,” said the report said. In essence, a new bridge would do nothing for Ottawa. The center of the city would continue to be clogged with tractor-trailers, and a new front would open up for them on the eastern edge.

Another federal study not fully released to the public, he said Kettle Island would cost $1.8 billion, with a Lower Duck Bridge coming in at $2.1 billion and McLaurin Bay at $2.15 billion. The NCC says that studies are being carried out to determine if the locations are suitable for a new bridge, but it is clear that this latest move is a means to an end that has already been decided.

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What is puzzling is why a liberal government that has made climate change its core policy is so keen to spend billions of dollars on a bridge for cars and trucks to create more pollution, when it could just as easily put the money into public transportation.

Two, Ottawa and Gatineau, are needed for an interprovincial bridge to work. But given fierce opposition from Ottawa and backing from Queen’s Park, it’s hard to see how the new bridge will pan out. After several decades of trying and spending millions on studies, it’s time for the federal government to drop the idea.

mohammed adam is a journalist and commentator from Ottawa.