Can there be any doubt that Port Mann Bridge was Surrey's longest, widest and most controversial Hot Button Topic of 2012?

It's virtually impossible to find a person in these parts who doesn't hold a strong opinion about some aspect of the new eight-laned span.

Commuters groaned heavy groans in 2012 about having to pay tolls to drive across the Port Mann, and will no doubt continue to do so until the toll finally lifts in 2050 (or so they say).

It's the world's widest bridge, at 65 metres, and cost $2.6 billion to build. While waiting for its grand opening in December, politicians and residents found plenty to bicker about - be it the accessibility of non-tolled alternatives to the Port Mann, how much the toll should cost, and how the pain should be shared.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts, concerned that residents south of the Fraser are being hit hardest by the toll, called for fairer cost-sharing measures across the region. She was also miffed when the province pulled back on its original plan to have express buses stop in Surrey once they've crossed the Port Mann, calling the snub "ridiculous."

The bridge pretty much outdid itself at drawing headlines when, toward the end of 2012, during what will be remembered as an infamous snow storm in these parts, it rained ice bombs from on high upon unfortunate commuters below.

The provincial government says taxpayers won't be on the hook for bridge upgrades to prevent this from happening again.

We shall see.