Burgoyne Bridge saga nearing final chapter
Faulty cost projections left politicians scrambling for answers, and an extra $40-million to complete the project
With the Ontario Provincial Police concluding its investigation into the Burgoyne Bridge replacement project, the Region moved a step closer to turning the page on that series of unfortunate events.
The project ballooned to more than $90-million from an original estimate of $54-million and was, at times, called a fiasco and a debacle.
For all the sound and fury, the OPP anti-rackets branch announced Monday it found nothing illegal after a 21-month probe.
Niagara Falls Regional Coun. Selina Volpatti headed the Burgoyne Bridge Replacement Project Task Force and said she was pleased the OPP didn’t find anything.
The task force is closing in on its third anniversary, having held its first meeting on Jan. 6, 2016.
With packed council agendas and an upcoming election, Volpatti said she hasn’t had much of a chance to consider what’s next for the task force.
“What we did was identify our weaknesses at the Region,” Volpatti said. “We stepped on some toes, but sometimes that has to be done. We had so many issues. We had procurement issues. We had document retention issues. We had project management issues.”
She pointed to a reorganized Internal Control and Organizational Performance Division (ICOPS) at the Region as an improvement that will pay dividends down the line.
“We were so lacking in internal controls,” she said. “Our CAO, Carmen D’Angelo has done a fantastic job putting ICOPS in place. Hiring Maciej Jurczyk as the director was a first-class decision.”
She added it couldn’t have come at a better time. There are some big-ticket projects on the horizon.
“The changes brought about by the bridge are critical. It’s been an expensive lesson, but, the main thing is that we don’t repeat the mistakes,” Volpatti said.
“We are going to spend more than $200-million for a south Niagara water treatment plant. There will be four GO stations. That will be huge money.
“We need to make sure all our ducks are in line. It is not perfect. I don’t know how it ever will be, but we are 100 per cent improved.”
St. Catharines Regional Coun. Bruce Timms was a member of the task force from the beginning. He too wasn’t surprised by the OPP announcement.
“There was all sorts of speculation going on, but the fundamental thing is that the original $50-million estimate was rushed and way too low,” Timms said. “The problems were baked in from the beginning.
“The other constraint was the federal-provincial grant structure. You can’t use a design-build method. You have to provide fixed plans.
“Design-build gives you a lot more flexibility to meet the conditions you find along the way, and someone may have been able to find some cheaper solutions.”
Timms said, in the end, there is a $90-million bridge in downtown St. Catharines, and it came at an excellent price for the city and its taxpayers. St. Catharines, through its council, contributed $3.65 million to the Regional project for enhancements such as landscaping and the widening of sidewalks for accessibility.
“There were lots of lessons we learned along the way,” Timms said. “It will set us up for the Carlton Street extension across 12-Mile Creek.
“But that something for the long term,” he added.