BURST
Preparations for the long-awaited construction of a new eight-lane tunnel to replace the aging and gridlock-prone Massey Tunnel are not going according to plan as B.C. says it is putting the project back out to tender.
Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth said in a statement on Monday afternoon that work had been underway on design and an early works agreement since September 2024 with Cross Fraser Partnership, a consortium of Bouygues Construction Canada, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Canada and Pomerleau B.C., but an agreement on a contract could not be reached.
Instead of re-tendering the project as one whole procurement, it is being split into several pieces in an approach similar to how the province handled the Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension and the widening of Highway 1. This means contractors will bid on different sections of the project with several groups working on different portions.
He said this should not impact the estimated start of major construction work in 2027 and that the new approach will not cost taxpayers any more money, with the last estimate saying the price to build the new tunnel will be $4.15 billion.
The current target date for the new tunnel to open is 2030.
“We’ve received good value from the contractor and have made steady progress with the design, thanks to their work. However, this project is critical to B.C.’s future, and we are taking this back to a competitive process to seek the best possible value for taxpayers,” said Farnworth.
In a posting on social media, Delta councillor and mayoral candidate Dylan Kruger said the rendering of the Massey Tunnel replacement project is a concerning development for a project that has been long talked about and is sorely needed.
“This is a significant setback for one of BC’s most important transportation projects, and raises serious questions about the escalating costs for this project, and how this situation was allowed to develop in the first place,” said Kruger, calling for an independent review into the project.
Fellow mayoral candidate Melissa Granum laid the situation at the feet of current Mayor George Harvie and criticized Kruger’s call for a review.
She said Delta should never have allowed the cancellation of the bridge replacement announced under the B.C. Liberals but cancelled by the NDP.
“George Harvie was one of the mayors responsible for that waste of money. He publicly abandoned his commitment to a bridge crossing back in 2019, and instead threw his support behind a tunnel,” said Granum. “A tunnel that has no completion date in sight.”
More to come …