Another day, another bombshell dropped surrounding the Massey Tunnel replacement project.
On Wednesday, Delta City Coun. Dylan Kruger shared that the cost of the project had soared well beyond the original estimate of $4.15 billion, saying it is now expected to cost around $11 billion.
Now, a BC Conservative MLA has spoken out, saying even this figure is too low.
Ian Paton, MLA for Delta South, says the price tag could easily soar to $12 billion.
Paton, who is a former Delta City Councillor, says he has said from day one that the original estimate was unrealistic.
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“The thing that frustrates me to no end is that I’ve been there right from the beginning. When I was first elected in 2017, the bridge was being built, and $100 million had been spent,” he told 1130 NewsRadio.
“Then out of spite… the NDP canceled the project, went to the Mayor’s Council on Metro Vancouver, a bunch of mayors that have no experience in engineering, who said, ‘…We’d like to see a tunnel instead of a bridge.’”
He says if the original bridge plan had gone forward, it would have been open three years ago, “a beautiful 10-lane bridge with a new exit out of Ladner, which we all wanted here in Delta.”
“So this is just so disappointing.”
He says the price tag is going to go “through the roof.”
“Trying to find companies now to take over and build this tunnel is going to be very, very difficult. And it’s going to extend the wait time for everybody to wait and see if this thing ever gets done.”
Early construction work started in January, including tree-clearing and utility relocations, and it will continue while procurement for future phases of the project remains underway, the Ministry of Transportation said this week.
The B.C. Environmental Assessment Office says it expects to complete its review of the project before the end of this year, while major construction is set to begin next year.
— With files from Sonia Aslam