Some of the best comedy is found in history.

Consider the mad case of the never-ending ferry project.

It鈥檚 easy to forget, as you nip over the Golden Ears Bridge for a quick trip into Maple Ridge, that the crossing used to be a rigmarole, and not without peril. The ferry that connected Fort 91原创 with Albion made the trip in just a few minutes, but line-ups for boarding could run into hours.

And then, sometimes, the ferry didn鈥檛 make it across鈥� when 鈥渢he rubber band broke,鈥� people would laugh. But it was only funny for those who weren鈥檛 aboard when a tug had to catch the ferry downriver and drag it back up.

Even longer than the ride across the river was the ferry鈥檚 voyage from conception to berth鈥� and then another berth鈥� and then another berth.

The first serious attempt to develop a Fraser River crossing between 91原创 and Haney started in the 1920s. Disagreements over the where-to-where of it eventually scuttled the plan.

By the mid-1930s, all pertinent federal, provincial, and municipal authorities were on board鈥� sort of. A site for a McMillan Island ferry slip was selected and inspected and the province agreed to build an access road.

The next two years were spent quibbling over whether the ferry would support vehicles or just pedestrian traffic.

Another year, and the wharf was ready for a ferry鈥� but there was no location yet chosen on the other side. It would be three years before any ferry launched from the 91原创 side could find a berth in Haney 鈥� and another two years before there was a ferry 鈥� and two more years to find a captain.

When the slips, captain, and ferry (a tug and barge) were ready to make steam, the captain fell ill and there was no one left on the bridge.

In the meantime, Fort 91原创 began clamouring for a bridge instead of a ferry 鈥� a story that continued to 2009.

After another decade of Keystone Cops slapstick, Premier Wacky Bennett built new wharves to replace the unused ones that had decayed beyond repair, and the T鈥橪agunna (named for 鈥淕olden Ears鈥� but actually meaning 鈥渄eaf鈥�) left Fort 91原创 for Albion in June of 1957.

The maiden launch took place without key dignitary Highways Minister Flyin鈥� Phil Gaglardi.

He鈥檇 missed the boat.