“. projec

Burrowing Bentzen extols virtues of underground

‘HANS BENTZEN belicves his
tunnel proposa! meets the needs
of the North Shore and

~ Vancouver because it allows
for, and initiates, future growth.

* By Kevin.Gillies
Contributing Writer .

Of the many options proposed for
ithe First. Narrows :. crossing,
Bentzen’s tunnel i is one of the more
: mabitious.
“The engineer’s design calls for.a
.. tunnel that would start at the Upper:
Levels Highway, run south down.
North Vancouver's Mackay Creek to
‘Burrard... Inlet; southwest beside
Brockton’ Point, then. under the
 dovatown core to False Creek: *
~". Itsyould house three general traf:
fic lanes and one “jight. rapid transit
line (LRT) in‘each direction.
‘Earlier this week, however,
North Vancouver,” District ‘Council
rejected, for’ the:
idea‘of lobbying the provincial gov-
eminent for a rapid transit extension

he worked in design and construc-
tion engineering in Denmark before
taking off for Africa siiere he speat
10 years as the project manager for
marine work projects in South
Africa and” Kenya. He also -spent
four years as the general manager of

a construction company in Uganda.

_tn 1953, Bentzen returned to
Copenhagen as chief engineer for
the international firm Christiani and
Niclsen, and in 1955. the company
assigned him to. Vancouver. as the
project manager for the Deas Island
Tunnel under the Fraser River.

Five years later he was decoritted
with the Order of Denmark.

Following the completion of the
Deas Island project, Bentzen
remained in Canada as Christiani
and Nielsen's executive vice-presi-

second time, the..

-to the North Shore. Council based its”.

decision on. the North Shore’s pro-
jected growth rate.” :

But, Bentzen told” the News:
“Where ‘you put, rapid | transit, » you
have, ‘developinent.”

: See Burrard i
Inlet’ tunnel proposa! cooly
received by North Van council,

. “is proposal ‘would ink the | ‘pro
posed LRT. lines with existing ‘rail.

-“Same as Mission,” he said. “And

it would. divert traffic. , away from
Stanley Park.”
SS His: psopo al has the” ‘highest
price tag: — $1.2 billion — however,
it has a “cost' recovery” component’
-where-an island is created beside’
Brockton Point, then sold for devel-,
opment.

Proceeds from the ‘real. estate

. transaction would offset the tunnel's
‘cost; and the island would be con-
“structed frem the earth removed for’
“the tunnel construction.
-"- Bentzen said he. was the original
‘proponent ofa tunnel at Brockton
Point in:1963 after he completed the.
Deas Island Tis ined (sow the Massey
Tunael).
wl The concept was studied exten:
“sively by the provincial government;
during ‘the ‘Third Crossing Project i in
the mid-sixties.
-" While Bentzen's current proposal
s a°huge undertaking, it would, be
nothing new to the engineer who has
Spent | his.-life’ working on*similar
around the world.

After obtaining his master of sci-
ence dégree ‘in civil engineering |

e from 2! Denmark's Technical.
Universit. of Copenhagen’ in :1929,

dent before taking over as company
president in New York in’ 1963, It
was while living. in New York that

his wife ‘Trudy passed away. While:

in New York, Bentzen was ciected as
a member of Moles, a prestigious
orgunization of tunnel experts, of
which he is sl] a member today.
Fram 1969-73 Bentzen was pres-
ident of the American Society of
Danish Engineers and in 1977 he
chaired meetings in’ Washington,
sponsored by the World: Bank, deal-
ing with underwater tunnels.
Following his retirement from
Christiani and Nielsen 12 years ago,
Bentzen returned ta Vancouver, inar-

ried Virginia O'Brian in 1983. and -:{:

established the engineering: firm
Hans: Bentzen and Associates in
V1, ,

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