Design issues, contract dispute plague Deh Cho bridge project

Builders of a bridge in the Northwest Territories are dealing with concerns about the design of the structure on top of a growing list of problems, including a dispute with the project's New Brunswick-based contractor.

Officials with the Deh Cho Bridge Corp., which is responsible for building the $165-million bridge over the Mackenzie River in Fort Providence, confirmed they are taking another look at the project's design after structural concerns were raised in a report commissioned by the N.W.T. government.

The bridge will provide a year-round contiguousroad link between Yellowknife and other communities in the Northwest Territories to Alberta. Currently, the only way to cross the river is by ferry or ice road.

The engineers who prepared the report in April called the kilometre-long span's design "unconventional." The reportmakes more than 100 recommendations and raises a number of questions, such as why the bridge was only tested for temperature conditions of -43 C when the original plan called for -60 C.

'Minor' issues, says bridge corp. manager

The report also raises the concern that plans for the construction of the bridge's super-structure might not be sufficient.

"Most of the issues that have been identified are fairly minor," Andrew Gamble, project manager with the Deh Cho Bridge Corp., told CBC News on Monday. "It's not a redesign; it's simply some design modifications.

"It certainly would have been, in hindsight, better to have identified all those at the beginning, but it's not unusual, I think, in a project of this size to make changes as you go."

Those changes, however, could mean more delays to a project that's already mired in disputes with Atcon Construction, the Miramichi, N.B.-based contractor for the project.

Neither Gamble nor territorial government officials would speak about that dispute.

"I think it's up to the government to speak to the public concerns," Gamble said.

"My priority is to, I guess, represent the interests of the corporation and to keep the project going into a happy conclusion."

Government won't discuss dispute

Earl Blacklock, a spokesman for the N.W.T. Transportation Department, said the government could not discuss the dispute.

"At this point, our primary responsibillty is to play the role that we have with the Deh Cho Bridge Corp. under the concession agreement, where we provide them the assistance that they need," Blacklock said. "As well, as the guarantor, we are working with the lenders to ensure that they have the information that they require.

"There will be a time when we can discuss more fully everything that is happening."

The lack of information coming from both parties has frustrated N.W.T. politicians like Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen. She has been critical of the government's secrecy around the project since the concession agreement was signed with the bridge corporation in 2007.

"Remember, we couldn't even find out that the concession agreement had been signed," Groenewegen said. "Then, we couldn't find out what was in the concession agreement.

"Here, the government is on the hook for the biggest piece of capital infrastructure that would have ever been undertaken by that [government] in its history, and the people who are ... responsible for the public purse can't get answers to basic questions. lt's flawed; it has been from the very beginning."

Despite the current setbacks, both the Deh Cho Bridge Corp. and N.W.T. government officials insist that construction work planned for this summer is still on track to be completed on time and on budget.