Cost of Massey Tunnel replacement up to $11 billion: city councillor

A bombshell has been dropped surrounding the Massey Tunnel replacement project, just two days after Delta City Council unanimously greenlit an emergency motion pushing for an independent review of the project.

Coun. Dylan Kruger tells 1130 NewsRadio says he’s hearing the cost has jumped from $4.15 billion to roughly $11 billion.

“This is a staggering number. This is a project that started at $2.9 billion. This has to be a political career-ender for some folks in Victoria.”

He’s also been told the provincial government has reached out to the federal government for a financial bailout.

“The province recently requested up to $4 billion in contributions from the federal government, which is quite incredible, considering that $4 billion used to be the budget number for this entire project.”

---

---

Kruger is stunned by this latest reported development.

“This is an absolute betrayal of the 100,000 commuters who use this crossing every day, people who were promised by this government they would get something done; instead this is the most blatant case of fiscal mismanagement I have ever seen,” he said.

“I can’t think of a bigger capital project failure than this one from this government. They’ve let down commuters. They’ve let down businesses. They’ve let down national trade that is being stalled and held hostage in a tunnel that is way past its best-before date. It’s an absolute shame on this government.”

He claims he’s asked provincial officials for answers about the project, but says he hasn’t received any.

Kruger isn’t surprised by this and adds the cost was expected to jump, given the rising cost of just about everything these days.

“This is the province’s asset and the province’s responsibility. At the end of the day, I don’t see why the feds would bail them out for unprecedented levels of fiscal mismanagement when they had a shovel-ready project at $2.9 billion that would have been opened three years ago.”

Councillor blasts termination of deal with design-build consortium

On Monday, the Ministry of Transportation announced it had terminated a deal with the design-build consortium it had chosen to replace the aging Massey Tunnel, claiming the project was still on track to be finished by 2030.

Later that day, Kruger put forward an emergency motion demanding an independent review of the project.

The motion passed unanimously.

Kruger said the years of delays and soaring cost make the situation feel like “Groundhog Day,” with the project procurement now back at square one.

As well, he doesn’t believe the project will be completed by 2030, saying it doesn’t even have a builder, environmental assessment certificate, or fixed budget.

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.

“The new toll-free, eight-lane tunnel will improve this critical transportation corridor for people and goods moving throughout the region and connecting to the Port,” reads a statement from Mike Farnworth, Minister of Transportation and Transit for B.C.

“We’re having good and constructive conversations with the federal government, and they have committed their support for this project. While I have said before that the cost has increased from the original budget, we have not contemplated or discussed an $11 billion budget.”

The project is still be discussed with the federal government.

“We will provide updated information on the budget for the project once our discussions with the federal government have concluded.”

1130 NewsRadio Vancouver has reached out to federal governments for comment.