$1.3M and counting: Wharf upgrades for new Bell Island ferry over budget

Work required to upgrade the wharveson the Bell Island ferry run in advance of the new MV Legionnaire starting service has gone more than $1.3 million over budget, according to a Newfoundland and Labradorgovernment document released through access to information.

The letter states that the contractor hired for the work needed on thePortugal Cove wharf a new, wider loading ramp, a wharf extension and dredging has run into problems during construction, prompting design changes to the tune of $1 million more than the original $3.8 million budget.

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Trident Construction's work on that project has been stalled since February because of a lack of necessary equipment, and the project is now set to finish sometime this fall.

In addition to that, the document states that the final cost to upgrade the Bell Island wharf is expectedto befiveper cent over budget when complete, an extra $306,000.

No commitment

Transportation Minister Al Hawkins will not commit to a firm timeline for the wharf to be completed, and for the Legionnaire to start running.

He toldreporters on Tuesdayafternoon that proper planning was not completed for the arrival of the boat, and said there issignificant work yet to be completed.

"I really do not want people to get the expectation that this work can be done fairly quickly," Hawkins said.

"I'm not making any commitment...conservatively, we're looking at the end of the year. And that could certainly extend into 2017."

In the meantime, the province is expecting to run a two-ferry service on to Bell Island over the summer.

Another tenderto come

There is still another tender to come for the wharf work. New vacuum mooring systems need to be installed at both Bell Island and Portugal Cove, for the ferry to have better control when moored at the terminals.

The systems have already been purchased for $2.5 million, but in order to install them, the wharves need to be further modified and strengthened.

There's no priceor timeline for that work, although the document states its tender is planned for sometime in 2016.

The ferry was launched in Romania in July 2015 and originally expected to be in use by March 2016. It was built by the same shipyard as the province's other new ferry, the MV Veteran, which has required numerous repairs since it began operating on the Fogo Island-Change Islands run.