Forty-five thousand tonnes of steel and concrete is suspended over the Mackenzie River.
That same Deh Cho Bridge still hangs over the heads of the territorial government a decade after it was completed.
The project was much ballyhooed because it provides year-round access between Yellowknife and the south. It replaced the Merv Hardie ferry and an ice crossing, and it allowed us to overcome the riverSA国际影视传媒檚 freeze-up and break-up periods when no passage was possible, except by air.
However, the bridge has also been rife with controversy. It was originally pegged at $169 million. That total kept creeping up until the price tag reached $202 million.
The GNWT is still shelling out $9 million per year in interest on the one-kilometre span, which crosses the river near Fort Providence. Those interest payments can rise because theySA国际影视传媒檙e tied to the consumer price index, which has been escalating furiously. The territorial governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 bridge payments are expected to continue until 2046, by the way.
Bridge tolls generally bring in close to $4 million per year, but it was less in 2020 when the government temporarily waived tolls and permit fees for commercial truckers as a means of economic relief during the pandemic. Some funding has to be devoted to bridge maintenance too.
Then there were the lawsuits related to the project.
A couple of members of the Deh Cho Bridge Corp. claimed that they were owed $1.3 million for work they did on the project. The GNWT, after taking over construction duties in 2010, settled with the disgruntled individuals confidentially.
Just last week, on March 11, while members of the NWT Legislative Assembly were reviewing Department of Infrastructure capital investment expenditures, Frame Lake MLA Kevin OSA国际影视传媒橰eilly spotted an item that he described as SA国际影视传媒渟ome sort of a dispute over a letter of credit replacement fund for $2.75 million.SA国际影视传媒�
Lo and behold he had stumbled upon another troubling legacy of the Deh Cho Bridge.
Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek explained that the amount in question is SA国际影视传媒渢he resolution of a matter that arises out of some litigation pertaining to the Deh Cho Bridge constructionSA国际影视传媒� and added that SA国际影视传媒渋t does fully resolve the matter.SA国际影视传媒�
The money is being paid to the Government of New Brunswick, Wawzonek told her colleagues in the assembly after further questioning from OSA国际影视传媒橰eilly.
She also said the dispute arose between the contractor from New Brunswick SA国际影视传媒� the now defunct Atcon Group SA国际影视传媒� and the GNWT. Atcon was eventually removed as the bridge contractor due to a disagreement with the territorial government, and the New Brunswick provincial government provided a $13-million loan guarantee on the companySA国际影视传媒檚 behalf.
SA国际影视传媒淎fter AtconSA国际影视传媒檚 construction deficiencies are corrected, New Brunswick may receive some monies back,SA国际影视传媒� New BrunswickSA国际影视传媒檚 conflict of interest commissioner wrote in a 2018 report.
So is this $2.75 million the amount owed back to the New Brunswick government? We cannot know for sure because Wawzonek cited the need for some confidentiality.
OSA国际影视传媒橰eilly pointed out that these are taxpayer dollars, thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a need for the GNWT to be accountable and he noted that the amount that the government sets aside for litigation contingencies has grown substantially.
Wawzonek rather casually responded, SA国际影视传媒淭hereSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot of litigation that happens in large infrastructure projects, whether itSA国际影视传媒檚 a P3 (public-private partnerships) or otherwise. That is not uncommon that as large projects go, that they will often wind up in some sorts of disputes between the parties that are involved and if the GNWT is one of those parties, then we will at times be subject to those litigation disputes.SA国际影视传媒�
And the public, apparently, will be subject to remaining partly or completely in the dark, unless sharp MLAs can spot budget line items that cry out for answers SA国际影视传媒� but even then the answers lack detail.
And thatSA国际影视传媒檚 not right.
