CHAMPLAIN COULD BE LATE
AG report says delays cost $500M
Mayor Valérie Plante is worried about a federal report suggesting the new Champlain Bridge may not open in December after all.
But the agency that operates the old one says it’s ready to keep the span going until at least June 2019. And the federal infrastructure minister reiterated that “the objective (is) to open the new Champlain Bridge to traffic on Dec. 21, 2018.”
Speaking to reporters in Quebec City on Tuesday, Plante said: “Of course I’m concerned, because what we want is to have a bridge that will be done in the time that was first decided and that it will also follow the budget.”
She said Montreal will “put some pressure at different levels to make sure we get our bridge on time. We need that bridge.”
About 58 million cars and trucks and 200,000 buses use the Champlain annually to cross the St. Lawrence River, making it one of Canada’s busiest spans and a crucial link for commuters and business.
As he released a scathing report about the new Champlain Tuesday, federal auditor general Michael Ferguson said: “It’s uncertain whether it will be completed by the December 2018 deadline.”
His report noted that “even with additional construction resources or new construction methods, meeting the revised construction completion date of Dec. 21, 2018, appears very challenging.”
REPORT SLAMS PLANNING
The report found that Ottawa bungled planning for the new bridge and didn’t adequately manage risks to mitigate cost delays and overruns. Delays in approving the new span cost taxpayers $500 million in avoidable expenditures, the report said.
Federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi, who visited the Champlain construction site last week, said in a statement Tuesday that more than three-quarters of the construction has been completed. He noted that he confirmed the Dec. 21 objective a month ago.
The federal agency that operates the current Champlain said it was instructed in February to maintain the structure so it can be road worthy until at least June 2019.
“It’s only a good risk-management approach,” François Demers, a senior director at the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc., told the Montreal Gazette.
The agency is spending $51 million repairing the Champlain this year and has $10 million set aside should Montrealers have to use it beyond December.
“The Champlain Bridge in its actual state is fairly secure, it’s safe,” Demers said. “We basically did everything we needed to do to maintain it even if the new bridge is delayed by more than six months.”
In 2017, a study commissioned by the agency said it could cost up to $250 million in additional work to keep the bridge open until December 2020.
The federal government announced plans to replace the Champlain in 2011. Though less than 50 years old at the time, it had deteriorated to the point where repairs could not keep it safely and efficiently operational for long.
The new 3.4-kilometre bridge is being built by a consortium — SNC-Lavalin, ACS and HOCHTIEF — that will subsequently operate the bridge until 2049.
The contract stipulates that if the bridge is delayed, the consortium could face penalties of $100,000 per day for the first week and $400,000 per day after that.
In mid-April, officials announced the bridge’s planned opening date would be Dec. 21 instead of the originally planned Dec. 1.
Ottawa and the consortium announced at the time that they had reached a settlement paving the way for the new span to open in December.
The deal resolved issues such as cost overruns and put an end to legal action filed by the consortium, which had complained that weight restrictions on the current Champlain had delayed work and increased costs.
As part of the April deal with the consortium, the cost of the bridge increased by $235 million to cover construction delays and transportation costs of oversized parts. The updated price tag: $4.2 billion.
Ottawa and the consortium say the new bridge will last 125 years.
The auditor general did not take a clear position on the promised lifespan.
“With respect to the bridge’s durability, (Infrastructure Canada) had no assurance that the new bridge would meet the expected service life of 125 years at the time it signed the contract with the private partner,” the report said.
“However, from our examination of certain components, we found no evidence that the bridge would not last the expected service life.”
A spokesperson for the consortium building the new bridge said it would not comment on the auditor general’s report.