The Yukon Party is claiming the territorial government is dragging its feet on the Nisutlin Bay Bridge project near Teslin.

The current bridge, built by the Department of National Defence, opened to the public in 1955. The new structure will be constructed beside it.

The project was recently budgeted at $80 million, but that has now doubled to $160 million.

The new bridge was first approved in 2019, when the Yukon government and the Teslin Tlingit Council (TTC) signed a project charter for the bridge replacement.

“The project is anticipated to begin in the coming weeks and be complete in 2026,” the Star reported last May.

The bridge is expected to take three years to build.

But according to Pelly-Nisutlin MLA Stacy Hassard of the Yukon Party, virtually no work has been done on the project. He asked a series of questions in the legislature Tuesday.

“The government has touted this as the largest project in Yukon history, and it is, and you know, we’d certainly hoped that things would be moving smoother and a lot quicker than they are,” Hassard later told reporters.

“And the other concern I have is the fact that the minister (Highways and Public Works Minister Nils Clarke) was so unable to answer questions about it in the legislature, and, as it is the largest project in Yukon history, I certainly would have hoped that he would have been a lot more a lot better versed in his answers today.”

Hassard elaborated on where he believes the project should be at now.

“The concrete abutments should have been poured and in place, there probably should have been somewhere in the neighbourhood of 30,000 metres’ worth of gravel moved already to put a preload on those abutments so that they would have time to settle into place,” he said.

“A lot of work should have should have taken place already. And unfortunately, none of that has happened.”

Hassard added, “We still don’t know for sure where the gravel, where the aggregate is even coming for this project. We don’t have a rock source proven up yet. They have potential rock sources, but they don’t know if they’re suitable or not.

“We don’t have water licences fully in place. We don’t have authority from DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans).

“I mean, there’s so many things that the government has completely dropped the ball on .… the minister talked about (how) this project was supposed to happen eight years ago and didn’t,” Hassard told media representatives.

“Well, you know, we’ve now had all of those eight years extra to do the planning and unfortunately, it appears that this government didn’t do any of the planning.”

He called it “really unfortunate” that the contractors have been placed in this situation.

“The community is put in a situation where the government is scrambling to – and actually making the contractor scramble – to try and get the project moving.”

Hassard was asked what the delay means.

“It means that every year Highways and Public Works has to send contractors down to do emergency repairs to the bridge,” he replied.

“It’s ongoing – has been ongoing for years. They’re currently there now doing major welding repairs to the bridge and you know, eventually you can only repair things so long and then they will fail.”

NDP Leader Kate White said she believes the questions are valid.

“It’s a really big project, and all of those should have been in place and they should be clearly understood by this point,” she said.

“You know, we’ve seen bridge replacements in other places in the territory and, you know, the challenges that come with that. And this is, you know, a major bridge access into the territory.

“And so, you know, I’d like the minister to answer the questions. I’d like to know where we’re at,” White said.

Clarke attempted to answer some of those queries after question period.

“This project almost got off the ground in 2014,” he reminded reporters.

“However, at that time, the Yukon Party (government) was, for various reasons, unable to get the project going. And at that point … one of the main issues was a perceived lack of consultation and inability to work with the Teslin Tlingit Council,” the minister said.

As for Hassard’s question about a water licence, Clarke said, “I can advise that the water licence is in fact in place. The project is currently on track and we are holding … a groundbreaking ceremony with the Teslin Tlingit Council, the village of Teslin and the contractor, Graham Infrastructure, and the officials from the Department of Highways and Public Works on Friday.”

Pile driving for the bridge will take place later this fall, he said.

According to Clarke, $30 million to $40 million is budgeted for the project in 2022-23.

“I’ve understood that there may be a request for them to accelerate the schedule,” said Clarke. “So I haven’t received that request yet.

“But if that were the case, then actually a not insignificant portion of the budget, or, of the work, could be done or spent in this fiscal year.”

Clarke was asked why the project budget has exploded.

“When was actually tendered about a year ago, at that point – it had already gone to a low estimate of $110 to $120 (million) … so there’s still significant price acceleration.

“It’s the price of … global structural steel and other components, supply chain issues, labour shortages. So that was all a factor.

“It’s vital transportation infrastructure in the territory that we do not want to have failing; it’s the longest bridge span in the territory. And as I indicated in my comments today, the bridge is about 70 years old. And we’ll be facing significant repair costs on an annual basis,” he added.

Maintenance costs of the existing bridge are between $500,000 and $1 million per year.

The money committed for the new bridge involves both federal and territorial contributions.

In 2018, the government conducted a study to estimate the cost of preserving the existing bridge versus replacing it.

At that time, the cost to upgrade it fell between $50 million and $67 million.

“With the pandemic, inflation and supply chain issues, we know these costs would be significantly higher today than these estimates,” the department said today in a short statement to the Star.

“Through this study, we found that replacing the bridge was the best option and provided the most benefits for the community.”

Friday’s ceremony will include Clarke, Alex Oakley, the deputy chief of the Teslin Tlingit Council, and Teslin Mayor Gord Curran.

The celebration will be followed by a community lunch.