Quesnel City Council is renewing its lobbying efforts for the proposed interconnector project.
Councillor MItch Vik successfully made the pitch at last (Tuesday) night’s Council meeting.
“City Council continues to place a high priority on the Interconnector project. To that end, a renewed effort must be invested to getting this project back into the provincial queue. A lobbying effort involving renewed engagement of other northern communities, our own residents and the decision makers within the provincial government, will be undertaken. The immediate goal would be to move this project to the next phase which is functional design of the interconnector.”
Council also voted unanimously to take $12,000 out of the Council Initiatives Fund to pay for the lobbying effort.
Councillor Scott Elliott noted that last night’s accident that basically shut down Quesnel was a good example of why this project is needed.
“We just had a horrific accident on the bridge where the interconnector would be built. They’re still working on it and the traffic is backed up in all directions for many kilometres. This is extremely important and the province needs to understand that. This is just proving if this closes down, our one way in and out because Johnston Bridge is closed at the same time, we’re in a lot of trouble.”
City Manager Byron Johnson added that their lobbying effort would include emergency services.
“In fact, in the long run that is one of the most important parts of the interconnector project, is from an emergency management perspective right. It’s not just about inconvenience, safety is a very large part of it.”
Ironically, the item was on the agenda before the accident.
A couple of staff members were late to the meeting because they were caught in traffic.
Fortunately, it appears that the three vehicle accident just south of the Quesnel River Bridge only resulted in minor injuries.
