As protests over pipelines across Canada bring the country’s coast-to-coast network to a halt, a fuel pipeline is being quietly laid through Richmond.
The laying of the long-awaited and previously controversial YVR jet fuel pipeline is well underway, much to the chagrin of residents in the area of Bridgeport Road and Highway 99.
According to the City of Richmond – which opposed the project from day one, but had little power to prevent it - St. Edwards Drive, which links Bridgeport and Cambie roads, has been closed 24/7 from Feb. 18 to April 30.
The pipeline starts at a fuel off-loading facility at the south arm of the Fraser River in south-east Richmond, before heading north along Highway 99 and then west to the airport.
The project, which was kicked off about 10 years ago by a consortium of airlines, sparked the forming of a grassroots group in Richmond called VAPOR.
VAPOR spent years protesting the project and tried to put pressure on all levels of government to halt it.
“We live nearby and will probably be affected by cars doing a rat run down Caithcart Road, due to the St. Edwards closure,” said one reader who contacted the Richmond News.
“Supposedly, vehicles are supposed to go all the way to Bridgeport before coming back around, but that's not going to happen.”
