Doerkson asks NDP to halt some work on Massey Tunnel replacement as Conservatives seek pivot back to bridge
The premier-designate wants to pivot the project back to a bridge, and wants work on new tunnel to stop.
By Alec Lazenby
Last updated 1 day ago
Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson has asked the outgoing NDP government to halt any work on the Massey Tunnel replacement that can’t be repurposed for a new bridge.
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A key campaign promise by Doerkson and his Conservative party was to scrap the planned eight-lane tunnel currently under construction between Richmond and Delta and go back to the 10-lane bridge that was proposed by the B.C. Liberals in 2013 but dumped by the NDP in 2017.
As of the end of June, $580.7 million had already been spent on the new tunnel, with Postmedia estimating that has now risen to over $700 million.
The overall budget has also ballooned to at least $8.5 billion, more than double the original projected cost.
“The reality is, as you all know, you all reported on it, that we were looking at a $4.5 billion cost,” Doerkson told reporters in Victoria on Thursday. “That cost has now risen to $8.5 billion, and frankly, I don’t believe that that is the top of that cost.”
Doerkson, who takes over as premier next week, said he didn’t know whether there would be penalties to be paid for cancelling current contracts for the construction of a tunnel.
Werner Antweiler, a UBC economist, told Postmedia last week the cost to cancel the contracts may be zero given the NDP fired the original consortium contracted to build the tunnel back in the summer and put the project back out to tender, while proceeding with preparatory work under smaller contracts.
Question marks also surround the possible need for a new environmental assessment of a proposed bridge. The B.C. Liberals completed that process in 2017, with the resulting certificate coming with 33 conditions, including a management plan to minimize impacts on fish and restoration of Green Slough and Deas Slough.
That assessment expired in 2022 after the NDP chose not to extend it and conduct a separate assessment on a new tunnel.
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“I will say that the environmental work was done on a bridge. Obviously, I want to engage with First Nations and have those conversations going forward,” said Doerkson.
“With respect to any of the contracts, we will obviously engage as soon as we’re able to find out exactly what those are.”
The federal government committed to covering up to a third of the cost of the tunnel, up to $3 billion, in July and federal Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon has indicated the offer would extend to the bridge if that is the route Doerkson decides to go.
The Conservatives have estimated that going back to building a bridge would save $2.5 billion, with a total cost of $6 billion, and that the project could be completed in the same time as the tunnel, with a projected completion date of September 2031.
Antweiler nevertheless said Thursday that the Conservatives have not presented a business case for the switch back to a bridge and believes the move is motivated purely by politics.
He said the NDP’s cancellation of the original bridge project in 2017 added to the costs and time required to build a replacement for the aging Massey Tunnel, built in the 1950s, and the Conservative’s cancellation of the tunnel project would do the same.
“The idea that the bridge will be cheaper, in my calculation, is not based on a proper assessment of the facts,” said Antweiler.
“The first time we switched from a bridge to a tunnel, that was probably wasted time and money. And now we are making the same mistake a second time for what reason? They both pretty much deliver the same service at a similar cost.”
Mike Farnworth, re-elected NDP MLA for Port Coquitlam and the outgoing transportation minister, said in a statement that Doerkson should know that politicians can’t direct the civil service during the transition period between one government and another.
He said the premier-designate should also have been aware of the costs that had already been sunk into the tunnel replacement.
“The bottom line is that Lorne Doerkson knows that cancelling this project would cost British Columbians hundreds of millions of dollars, lay off hundreds of workers, and leave people stuck in traffic for years longer,” said Farnworth.
“His statement today shows that he is either laying the groundwork to break his commitment, or to try to blame someone else for what it will cost British Columbians.”
Despite Farnworth’s statement, provincial officials say they have received Doerkson’s request and are following it as best as they can.
A Ministry of Transportation spokesperson said that no decisions are being taken that could hamper the incoming government’s options.
“The Province has received Premier-Designate Doerkson’s request regarding the George Massey Crossing and can confirm it is acting consistent with the request,” said the spokesperson.
“Until the new government is sworn in, the Province operates under the caretaker convention. Day-to-day government business continues and existing contracts and legal obligations are honoured, but no new decisions or commitments are made that would limit the choices of the incoming government.”
With files from Gordon Hoekstra
