Resource Summary

Ministry of Transportation

BC Transportation Financing Authority — Income Statement

	2004/05 Actual1	2005/06 Plan	2006/07 Plan	2007/08 Plan
Revenue ($000)
Dedicated taxes2	426,928	440,200	453,100	466,300
Transfer payments3	750,000	—	—	—
Amortization of deferred contributions4	175,076	165,270	155,282	145,456
Other revenue5	32,880	26,228	26,028	25,028
Total	1,384,884	631,698	634,410	636,784
Expenditures ($000)
Amortization	297,818	309,891	316,386	320,004
Interest6	155,098	130,156	153,331	180,527
Heartlands roads program7	11,714	35,000	35,000	35,000
Grant programs8	77,530	104,000	18,000	136,000
Operations and administration	37,064	17,226	16,308	15,852
Contracted Services	—	3,600	7,200	8,900
Total	579,224	599,873	546,225	696,283
Net Income (Loss) ($000)
Net Earnings (Loss)	805,660	31,825	88,185	(59,499)
Capital Plan ($000)9
Transportation Improvements	512,755	560,144	617,325	438,291

Rapid Transit Project 2000 — Income Statement

	2004/05 Actual	2005/06 Plan	2006/07 Plan	2007/08 Plan
Revenue ($000)
Recognition of deferred capital and pre-operating contributions(1)	26,752	29,348	28,666	28,027
Expenditures ($000)
Amortization of deferred capital contribution(2)	26,752	29,348	28,666	28,027
Net Income (Loss) ($000)
Net Earnings	—	—	—	—

Major Capital Projects

Nisga'a Highway

Objective: The Nisga'a Highway Project is in the final year of a seven-year investment program that involves upgrading the Nisga'a Highway from a gravel resource road to an all-weather, two lane highway that meets a 70 kilometres per hour standard. The upgrade is expected to be finished by October 2005. The upgrade will better serve Nass Valley residents and resource industries in the area.

Costs: The estimated total cost for the seven-year program is $52 million.

Benefits:

• Safer roads;
• Travel time savings;
• Better access to British Columbia communities; and
• Economic development through increased tourism and more efficient movement of goods and services.

Risks: This project has presented engineering and construction challenges due to the rugged terrain. However, few risks remain as the construction left on the Nisga'a Highway upgrade is straightforward gravel and paving work.

Kicking Horse Canyon

Objective: Upgrade the 25-kilometre section of the Trans-Canada Highway to a modern, four-lane standard from the junction of Highway 95 at Golden to the western boundary of Yoho National Park. This corridor was originally constructed in the 1950s and is mostly two lanes wide. It is an important route for tourism and interprovincial trade, serving as a gateway between British Columbia and the rest of North America. Additionally, by connecting remote resource extraction sites with processing, manufacturing and distribution centres, this portion of the Trans-Canada Highway is a key part of our province's resource economies, particularly forestry and mining.

The Kicking Horse Canyon project has three phases, of which only the first two are funded and underway.

Costs: The estimated cost is $191 million for the first two phases.

• Yoho (5-Mile) Bridge (current budget $61 million): The cost of this work is being shared with the Government of Canada under the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program (SHIP). The federal portion is $23 million and the provincial portion is $38 million. Construction is on schedule and expected to be complete by fall 2006.
• Park (10-Mile) Bridge (preliminary estimate $130 million): The cost of this work is being shared with the Government of Canada under the Canadian Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF). The federal portion is $62.5 million. The provincial government is pursuing public-private partnership delivery. A request for proposals was issued in October 2004. Design and construction by the successful proponent is expected to commence this fall.

Note: It is anticipated that in the future there will be a third phase for upgrades from Golden to 5-Mile and 10-Mile to Yoho National Park when federal cost-sharing is secured. Improvements likely will be made over the longer term, rather than within the three-year scope of this service plan.

Benefits:

• Safer roads and increased capacity on a critical provincial and national gateway;
• Fewer road closures due to slides and traffic incidents;
• Replacement of two major structures that are nearing the end of their service lives; and
• Economic development through increased tourism and more efficient movement of goods and services.

Risks:

• Challenging climatic and geographic conditions; and
• Managing traffic during construction.

William R. Bennett Bridge

Objectives: Construct a new five-lane bridge to replace the existing 47 year-old bridge which is now at the end of its economic and useful life, and reduce the increasing traffic congestion. A competitive procurement process led by Partnerships BC, working with the ministry, has resulted in the selection of SNC-Lavalin as the private partner to design, build, finance and operate the new bridge and related improvements to the highway approaches.

Costs: The bridge and east approach improvements are estimated to cost $144 million.

Benefits:

• Safer crossing and connecting roads;
• Travel time savings due to relieved congestion; and
• Economic development through increased tourism and more efficient movement of goods and services.

Risks: Engineering and construction challenges, which are substantially transferred to the private sector through the public-private partnership.

Sea-to-Sky Highway

Objectives: Implement extensive improvements to the existing highway between Horseshoe Bay and Whistler to improve safety, reliability and mobility. The improvements will make travel along the corridor safer for residents, commuters, tourists and businesses moving goods.

Costs: After a comprehensive review of proposals from the three proponents, S2S Transportation Group was selected to design, build, finance and operate the improved Sea-to-Sky Highway. The Ministry of Transportation and S2S Transportation Group reached final agreement for the project in June, 2005. The total capital budget for the project is $600 million ($2002) and expenditures to June 30, 2005 are on budget. Further information including a Capital Project Plan is available at http://www.seatoskyimprovements.ca/.

Benefits:

• A safer road;
• Increased capacity;
• Reduced vehicle operating costs;
• Fewer road closures due to slides and traffic incidents; and
• First Nations' participation and opportunities.

Risks:

• Difficult terrain and unstable areas that the highway crosses;
• The need to keep a large volume of traffic flowing while carrying out the improvements;
• The need to address municipal, community and environmental issues; and
• The unalterable schedule for completing the job.

Rapid Transit Project 2000

Objective: The Millennium Line project, which is mostly complete and is running smoothly, included construction of the 21.6 kilometre Millennium Line extension to the SkyTrain rail transit system in the Lower Mainland, plus feasibility studies of two planned further extensions of SkyTrain. Construction is underway on the last portion from Commercial Station to Vancouver Community College.

Costs: The total cost of the Millennium Line is forecast to be $1.12 billion, which is lower than its approved budget of $1.17 billion.

Benefits:

• Rapid transit service for current and future commuters;
• Reduced congestion;
• Reduced pollution from automobile exhaust emissions;
• Slower growth in the demand for new highway infrastructure; and
• Less urban sprawl, due to compact development around transit stations.

Risks: Risks are related to one remaining section, from Commercial Station to Vancouver Community College, which faces standard construction and financial risks and is expected to be turned over to the operator in late 2005.

The RTP 2000 website is located at http://www.rapidtransit.bc.ca.

Transportation Investment Plan

The first phase of a multi-year Transportation Investment Plan for British Columbia was announced in February 2003. The plan is set out in detail in "Opening up BC", available online at http://www.gov.bc.ca/bcgov/content/images/transportation_plan_web.pdf.

Key components of the plan include:

• Border Crossing Program — Enhancing the free flow of goods approaching and through British Columbia's busiest border crossings. Approximately $242 million will be committed to infrastructure and technology improvements. British Columbia and provincial partners will provide $140 million, to be combined with $102 million from the federal government's Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program and Border Infrastructure Fund. This program's planned investments extend beyond the three-year scope of this service plan.
• Gateway Program: Reducing congestion and improving the movement of people, goods and transit throughout Greater Vancouver through a proposed program of road and bridge improvements along and across the Fraser River. The program represents an estimated investment of about $3 billion. Proposed projects include:
  • South Fraser Perimeter Road, a primarily new east-west route along the south side of the Fraser River;
  • North Fraser Perimeter Road, a set of improvements to existing roads from Coquitlam to Maple Ridge, including a new high-level Pitt River Bridge to replace the existing swing bridges; and
  • Port Mann Bridge/Highway 1, which involves twinning the Port Mann Bridge, upgrading interchanges, and improving access and safety along Highway 1 from Vancouver to Langley. The project would make it possible to extend the high occupancy vehicle lanes and transit across the bridge.

  

  Port Mann Bridge

  The ministry is consulting with local and regional governments and conducting technical and financial analyses to develop a draft project scope for public consultation and environmental assessment review. Pre-design community consultation was completed on the southwest Delta segment of the South Fraser Perimeter Road and the Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange in 2005. The Gateway Program has developed a draft cycling plan for consultation, to accommodate commuter and recreational cyclists within the Gateway corridors, including across the potentially twinned Port Mann Bridge.

• Highway Corridors — Improving the performance of highway corridors through projects such as passing lanes, four-laning, left turn slots, realignments and safety upgrades. Projected investment from 2005/06 to 2007/08 is in the order of $200 million. Approximately $10 million of this will be provided by the federal government under the Strategic Highway Program.
• Cariboo Connector — Widening the 460 kilometre portion of Highway 97 from Cache Creek to Prince George to increase safety and decrease travelling times while providing northern communities with a first-class trade corridor that is meeting the needs of a rapidly expanding economy. Phase 1 of the program will include approximately $200 million in projects initiated over a five-year timeframe.
• Highway Rehabilitation — Investing $438 million over three years (2005/06 through 2007/08) in road and bridge surfacing, bridge rehabilitation, seismic retrofits and highway safety improvements.
• Heartlands Roads — Making Heartlands roads safer and more reliable, and improving connections between communities. The ministry is investing $225 million from 2005/06 through 2007/08 to renew the northern and rural road network.
• Okanagan Corridor Improvements — In addition to replacing the Okanagan Lake Bridge with the new William R. Bennett Bridge, trade and tourism will be supported by projects that will reduce congestion in urban areas by four-laning Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland, upgrading highways 97 and 33 within Kelowna, four-laning Highway 97A north of Vernon to Armstrong and upgrading key intersections with the Trans-Canada Highway.
• Transportation Partnerships Program — Helping develop the closest port in the Americas to the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific market by supporting a container handling facility at the Port of Prince Rupert. Modernizing and expanding airports across British Columbia to boost tourism and create new jobs and economic development opportunities. Along with contributions from partners, the ministry is reserving $10 million a year that will bring benefits for regional economies. A portion of this program funding is directed to cost-sharing on the development of bicycle networks to make cycling a safe and attractive option for commuters.



Port improvements benefit the economy

• Weigh Scales Upgrade Program — Over the two years of 2005/06 and 2006/07, an estimated $10 million will be invested to reduce wait times and improve accessibility and safety. These changes will reduce trucking industry costs and allow the faster transportation of goods. The ministry is also saving money by partnering with the Province of Alberta on joint use facilities. One such Joint Use Vehicle Inspection Station is currently under construction on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Golden.
• Heartlands Oil and Gas Road Rehabilitation Strategy — Rehabilitating the existing public road infrastructure in the Northeast region of the province to help eliminate seasonal road restrictions and extend the winter drilling season for oil and gas exploration, thereby attracting new investment and creating jobs. This rehabilitation is being done in partnership with the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.
• Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Rapid Transit Project (RAV) — The RAV project is a jointly funded (British Columbia Government, Vancouver International Airport, Federal Government and the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (GVTA)) rail-based rapid transit line that will link central Richmond, the Vancouver International Airport and Vancouver's downtown business district. The project is deliverable by the GVTA through its subsidiary RAVCO. The province is committed to make $435 million in contributions.