Photo by Whitehorse Star
Highways and Public Works Minister Nils Clarke
Big Creek bridge costs to date are unknown
The big mess that is the Big Creek bridge replacement was raised Tuesday in the legislative assembly by the Yukon Party.
The big mess that is the Big Creek bridge replacement was raised Tuesday in the legislative assembly by the Yukon Party.
Julmac Contracting was awarded the tender in 2020, with completion planned for 2022.
The bridge is located on the Alaska Highway about 65 km west of Watson Lake.
“Can the minister tell us why this project was abandoned and how much of the $6.25 million (project cost) has been recovered from the contractor or the bonding company?” asked Watson Lake MLA Patti McLeod.
And with the replacement bridge expected to cost $7 million to $9 million, McLeod wanted to know how much will be covered by the Government of Canada.
Highways and Public Works Minister Nils Clarke said he couldn’t say much about the cost recovery as the government and Julmac are in court about the matter.
He noted that defects within the concrete deck were an issue.
But the government is on track to have the replacement bridge project completed this year, in two phases.
The first tender, to repair the concrete deck and complete the outstanding bridge work, is now out and will close March 25.
“We are moving the Yukon forward,” said Clarke. “There is an abundance of infrastructure projects that are occurring in this territory.”
He made special mention of “the biggest infrastructure project in the history of the Yukon,” the $250-million Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport project.
In the meantime, crews continue to maintain and inspect the current Big Creek bridge to verify it remains safe for the travelling public, according to a government briefing note.
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Comments (4)
Up 0 Down 1
Vlad on Mar 27, 2024 at 11:11 am
The whole Alaska highway was built in eight months. Perhaps let's give the contract to the contract to the US Engineering Corps. Just an idea.
Up 26 Down 3
Apex Parasite on Mar 26, 2024 at 11:46 am
"Costs to date are unknown..." in a perfect world, even an imperfect world, someone should be taken to task for this. I resent having my tax dollars wasted in this manner. Unacceptable.
I bet some parties know how much they got paid to get it this far.
This sort of story is quite maddening
Up 27 Down 5
Guncache on Mar 22, 2024 at 6:26 pm
For years I've driven over the old bridge with poorly planned approaches. I guess I'll continue to drive over the old bridge while viewing millions of dollars of steel and concrete sit unused beside it
Up 51 Down 8
YT on Mar 22, 2024 at 6:42 am
I’d love to hear the full story behind this. It’s a simple little bridge replacement, how did this go so far off the rails?
This never used to happen back in the day. Maybe YG needs to get back to managing and inspecting the projects in house.