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There has been backlash from residents about removing Cloverdale Bridge. The Save the Footbridge group protested the Valley Line groundbreaking ceremony in April.

“I know it is heartbreaking for people, I empathize completely, but there was no route that would not have cost to it,” Ward 6 Coun. Scott McKeen said.

“I don’t think any of my council colleagues, even those who are the most strident advocates of the LRT system, will revel in the next two or three years of construction.”

Ward 8 councillor, Ben Henderson, said the footbridge work will inconvenience a lot of people, but it is for the greater good of the city as a whole.

“I think we will be happy with what we end up with but there is no question it will be an inconvenience and it’s not going to be the only inconvenience that we are going to have in building the LRT line,” Henderson said.

“There’s no way to build something like that in an existing city without there being inconvenience.

“We’ve worked really hard to come up with the best solution that creates the less disruption — both temporary and permanent — but it’s inevitable that you can’t build something like that into a city without some consequences.

“In the long run we will end up with something that will collectively be far better off for it.”

As for the tunnel portion of the line, an area on the north slope of the river will serve as a construction site before excavation begins.

“We’ll start constructing an area to work up there so that we can start to get ready for the construction of the actual tunnel that will lead up into Chinatown,” said Heuman.