Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson says he has written to outgoing NDP Premier David Eby asking him to halt tunnel work that wouldn’t be useful as part of a future bridge.
The Story
Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson says he has written to outgoing NDP Premier David Eby asking for an end to any work on the Delta-Richmond crossing that would not be useful as part of a future bridge until cabinet can finalize the project’s direction.
In a statement released Thursday, Doerkson said, “We are not asking for all work to stop,” and that work necessary should continue until cabinet is in a position to finalize the project’s direction.
Doerkson added that “We should not be spending more money or making new commitments that lock British Columbians into the tunnel option before the incoming government has completed its review.”
The statement follows questions about whether the province’s $8.5-billion Massey tunnel replacement plan has already progressed too far, including how much has been spent on preparation and claims that construction costs could reach about $1 million a day during the election and transition period.
Outgoing Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth responded by calling the request “a strange attempt by Doerkson to pin the costs of this reckless promise on anyone but himself,” and said Doerkson knew when he promised to cancel the tunnel that construction was already well underway and that hundreds of millions of dollars had been spent.
Doerkson later told reporters that briefings have led him to believe he is “more strongly committed to a bridge than I was even during the campaign,” adding that there are “many details that we have to obviously sort through and better understand,” but that “everything that we've seen leads us to believe that this is a far better direction for British Columbians and far more responsible.”
He said he suspects between $600 million and $700 million has been spent on site preparation, and potentially a little more.
Doerkson also said he has supporting documents for the Conservative costing and timelines, but that they will not be released until after cabinet is sworn in Nov. 20, when the bridge plan will face its first major test.
← More stories