Dear Editor,

Who would have thought in 1964, when I helped build the Port Mann Bridge, the most expensive piece of highway in Canada at the time, that it would be torn down in my lifetime, 45 years later, especially considering the fact that it was only in 2006 that the bridge was totally refurbished and another lane added.

The reality is that this government stands for ideological dogma, short-term thinking, and quite literally no planning ahead, all the way from the "new era" in the hospitals and health care to the tearing down of a newly refurbished, upgraded bridge 45 years into its life.

It's a sad fact that the taxpayers of B.C. will be paying for the old Port Mann Bridge upgrades decades after it has been torn down.

Is this financial expertise? Is this good conservative money management? Or is this just another example of reckless short-term incompetence with no planning to speak of?

Is this how responsible governments should conduct themselves?

No wonder there is no money for social programs, with the multi-millions this government has squandered on pretty much everything it has touched. The Golden Ears Bridge will be lucky if it lasts 30 years, as it was pulling apart within months of being built, and the new $3.3-billion Port Mann Bridge appears to be doing not much better, and apparently has an expected life span of 35 years.

When you consider B.C.s other bridges, this is inexcusable folly.

The Lions Gate Bridge is 76 years old and counting. The Patullo bridge is 75 years old, and the Iron Workers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge is 52 years old and counting.

This government is all about show, flash, and propaganda. Pretty well everything this government touched will be gone long before it is paid for.

I am sure when the citizens of B.C. finally see the uncooked books - the real financial disaster that is the BC Liberals' legacy - they will be shocked and forced to put to rest once and for all the myth of conservative (BC Liberal) financial competence.

The fact is, outside the bubble, these clowns would be hard-pressed to run a popcorn stand.

Wayne Clark, Maple Ridge