THUNDER BAY – Michael Gravelle says he wants whoever is responsible for repairs to the Nipigon River Bridge to cover the millions in added costs to the $106 million project.
Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines on Monday said while he’s not privy to the ongoing discussions between the province and the contractor, he’s confident the work will be done by the completion of the 2018 construction season and the span will be open to four lanes of traffic by year’s end.
Initial estimates, when the engineering reports were released in September 2016, was the cost to repair the newly opened bridge would range between $8 million and $12 million.
The Canadian Press on Sunday revealed through freedom of information requests they’d learned the costs had soared well beyond the original estimate, noting the province won’t say how much more the repairs will add to the final bill.
On Jan. 12, 2016, a section of the bridge deck heaved, forcing its closure for nearly 24 hours, essentially stopping highway traffic in its tracks.
Gravelle said the province can’t release how much the overrun will be, because to the best of his knowledge it hasn’t been determined yet.
At this stage he’s more concerned about getting the repairs, which are already behind schedule, completed.
“(We’re) focusing on making sure the fixes that need to be made in order to make the bridge safe for travel for the future,” Gravelle said. “That and the permanent retrofit that’s being put in place. There are extra costs involved that.
“I know there are discussions going on with the contractor in relation to those costs and those discussions are going to be ongoing.”
Gravelle said the work was too important to hold up until an agreement was reached on who was responsible for covering the costs.
“I do think that those who are responsible for the breakage pay for the breakage itself,” Gravelle said.
NDP transportation critic Wayne Gates told the Canadian Press the province should be transparent about the rising costs and demanded the contractor foot the bill.
"They should be responsible for any of the cost at all," he told the news agency. "Whether it's $8 to $12 million or whether it's $30 million, taxpayers shouldn't pay a penny for this."
Conservative critic Michael Harris suggested the negotiations should have taken place before the repair work began.
"I think anybody, you or I, are building a house or doing a renovation, we try to get those costs agreed to up front," he told the Canadian Press. "It seems this government negotiates completely backwards."
