the report from george robert stephenson, a consulting engineer to the provincial commission, was largely in favour of the "bray" route, and made the following points: it was the shortest route providing access to all necessary points; construction costs would be 32% less than the alternative; it would be cheaper to work; and less expensive to maintain. the only point he noted in favour of the route via gollans bay was that it would take three years to construct as opposed to five years for the direct route.