Get ready for a cowboy cook-off page 14
BCSPCA promotes pint-sized pets page 18
Tuesday April 10, 2012 Serving Surrey and North Delta www.surreyleader.com
South Fraser Perimeter Road milestone marked, but Port Mann tolls edge closer
HERE for the
Gridlock fear grows
BEER Surrey breweries create a special ale to showcase the best of B.C.’s brewers during this year’s Vancouver Craft Beer Week
by Jeff Nagel HIGHWAY 1 motorists who don’t want to pay the tolls that will
be slapped on the new Port Mann Bridge this December will instead be directed to the Pattullo Bridge and provincial officials say the South Fraser Perimeter Road will offer a speedy connecting route to the free crossing. But some Metro Vancouver mayors question how well traffic will move on the new truck freeway. And they predict gridlock will await those drivers in New Westminster and Burnaby, where transportation ministry officials say Brunette Avenue will act as the signed free route to the Pattullo. “We’re going to end up with a massive amount of traffic,” predicts Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan. “Right now we have no room on the roads,” New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright said. “If there’s an increase in traffic, all it’s going to do is slow everything down or stop everything.” They spoke after Premier Christy Clark and Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom visited Surrey last Tuesday to highlight transportation improvements and mark the halfway point of work on the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR). The ministry has not yet determined exactly where it will put signs guiding motorists to the free crossing, but has promised to release details by summer. The northeast third of the $1.26-billion perimeter road is slated to open this winter at the same time as the new Port Mann, carrying westSurrey Mayor bound traffic as far as the Pattullo. Later, when the entire SFPR is finDianne Watts ished through to Deltaport, officials say other free alternate routes incorporating the Alex Fraser Bridge could also be signed, but they offered no specifics. Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said the current plan means sending huge numbers of vehicles to a 75-year-old bridge that has been the scene of many fatalities over the years.
by Evan Seal
T
“The traffic diversion is going to congest that whole area onto the Pattullo Bridge. It’s going to be a traffic mess.”
EVAN SEAL / THE LEADER
Jack Bensley (left), head brewer at Russell Brewing Company, and Gary Lohin, master brewer and part owner of Central City Brewing Company, have joined forces to make a signature beer for the 2012 Vancouver Craft Beer Week.
hey may just have the cure for what ales you. A pair of Surrey brewing companies has been tasked with creating this year’s signature beer to represent B.C. brewers during Vancouver Craft Beer Week (May 18-26), the province’s largest craft beer festival. Recently recognized on the world stage for excellence in brewing, Jack Bensley, head brewer at Russell Brewing Company in Newton, and Gary Lohin, master brewer and part owner of Central City Brewing Company in City Centre, put their heads together to create a unique Pacific Northwest ale. Cascadian Brown Ale began the fermenting process on March 30 at Russell. “I threw out the idea of a brown ale initially because I had brewed one recently that I really liked,” said Bensley. “But this hoppy brown is a totally new recipe.” With ingredients that include two row malted barley, English crystal malt, Munich malt, dark bristol and chocolate malt, the brewers say Cascadian Brown Ale should showcase a distinctive West Coast flavour. See BEER SALES / Page 3
See INTERCHANGES / Page 3
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