Estimated cost of Red Hill Valley Parkway inquiry now as high as $20M

The expected cost of an inquiry into Hamilton's Red Hill Valley Parkway (RHVP) hasballooned to as much as $20 million.

The city has already racked up more than $11 million in costs, and thatprice tag is only expected to rise as the probe continues in the new year, says a report presented to city council's general issues committee on Wednesday.

The current dollar figure has already hit the high end of initial estimates, which suggested the inquiry would cost the city between $1 and $11 million.

Now legal staff calculatethe inquiry couldtotal between $18 and $20 million, the report says.

The inquiry is set to examine how adamningreport abouttheRHVPstayed buried for six years.

That2013 Tradewind Scientific report showed friction in some areas of the highway fell well below U.K. safety standards. There are nosimilar standards in North America.

The city said in 2018 that the reportwas only found in a locked computer folder after the city hired a new engineering director.

Aclass action lawsuitseeking more than $260 million has also been proposed, though it is separate from the inquiry.

It's expected the cost of the inquiry will "increase significantly" as it moves toward the hearing stage, which has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The probe has also been plagued by slowdowns during documentcollection, whichCommissioner Justice Herman Wilton-Siegelpreviously said left him disappointed.

The judge will tackle 24 questions, including who saw the report, why council wasn't told and if drivers were put at risk.

Between $6 and $7 million in added costs are anticipated between November and August 2022,the city report says.

City councillors will discuss the matter in camera Wednesday evening. But Brad Clark, Ward 9 (upper Stoney Creek) councillor, wanted to know if the city is slow providing documents to Wilton-Siegel.

'Incredibly disappointed'

"I'm incredibly disappointed that the costs have gone up as a result of this delay," he said.

Lloyd Ferguson, Ward 12 (Ancaster) councillor, was one of only two councillors who voted against a judicial review in 2019. He said he'll keep voting against it.

"When I opened up this report, I was shocked," he said. "It's already cost us $11 million and the darn thing hasn't even started yet."

"It's just such a waste of taxpayers' dollars."

Brenda Johnson, Ward 11 (Glanbrook) councillor, agreed. "Ican't tell you how many rec centres we'll have to blow over to pay for this."

The costs so far have been covered by Hamilton's tax stabilization reserve, according to the report.

A new timeline for the inquiry, provided by by staff, suggests the hearings will finally begin byApril the second quarter of 2022 and the inquiry will reach the report stage by the end of next year.