Tolls gone from Coquihalla

Castanet
Tolls on the Coquihalla Highway will be removed immediately, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today during his annual address to the Union of B.C. Municipalities. "The Coquihalla Highway opened British Columbia's Interior like never before, generating economic opportunities and fostering the tremendous growth of communities," says Premier Campbell. "Former Premier Bill Bennett had a vision for a highway that would see our province reach its full economic potential. It has succeeded beyond anyone's expectations and has become the foundation for a transportation network that has opened up Canada's Pacific Gateway to North America and the rest of the world. Today's announcement marks the next milestone in that legacy." The highway officially opened on May 16, 1986, at the dawn of Expo 86. The first phase, from Hope to Merritt, opened on that day. Phase 2, from Merritt to Kamloops, was completed on Sept. 4, 1987 and the final phase, the Coquihalla Connector from Merritt to Kelowna, was completed Oct. 1, 1990. The total capital cost of the three phases was $848 million. Current annual revenue collected by the tolls is approximately $57 million. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure anticipates that revenues collected from the tolls since its opening will have effectively offset those total capital costs by next month. "Removing the tolls will mean literally hundreds of dollars annually in the pockets of British Columbians who regularly use the highway," says Premier Campbell.
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Toll booth employees in shock By Heather Thomson - Merritt Herald

No more tolls on the Coquihalla.At first glance this seems like great news to all British Columbians, but some Merritt residents don't agree. For 37 people working at the toll booths the announcement made by Premier Gordon Campbell at noon today was not great news."At 10 to one they called us in and told us we were out of a job," explains Janet Poehnell, an auxiliary employee at the toll booth. She says the first they heard of the change, which came into effect as of 1 p.m. today, was when one of the drivers came to her booth and mentioned it."I was totally shocked that we had to hear it from the public first."

By 1:30 p.m. most of the staff members had been notified, each being called in either alone or in small groups. Poehnell says they were too shocked to go home. Instead they cashed out for the last time and gathered to talk about the announcement. The overall reaction was shock and disappointment."Gordon Campbell figures he'll be the good guy," Poehnell explains only minutes after hearing her world had been turned up-side-down. "But he has shown us no respect."

She says perhaps the worst part is that the employees have been shown no loyalty after years of "busting their butts." She points out that they are part of a system that keeps the highways open, no matter what conditions they have to battle to get to work. She says they have a hard job, and no one complains. In fact, only minutes before she heard that the tolls would be dropped, she had faced one of the most difficult parts of their job. A woman came through her booth who had forgotten her bank card and had no way to pay. "I had to send her back to Merritt. If she had been through a few minutes later I could have let her through."Of the 37 employees Poehnell estimates half of them live in Merritt. Approximately 17 are classified as auxiliary, which means they are either part time or on call. According to Poehnell, they will get no compensation or severance pay."In a week they'll be tearing the toll plaza down," she explains. "With it goes my job, and my financial security has been blown out the window. "The remaining 20 staff are permanent employees and have been guaranteed positions with the government, according to Bridgett Anderson, press secretary to the premier. She could not confirm where the replacement jobs would be, and no one from the Ministry of Highways was available for comment.