Delta mayor pressures province over Massey Tunnel safety concerns

George Harvey, the Mayor of Delta, is demanding the provincial government answer serious questions about the safety of building a new Massey Tunnel next to the existing 67-year-old crossing.

The B.C. government terminated its deal with design-build consortium Cross Fraser Partnership this month, citing inability to resolve risks to the existing tunnel during construction. "The reason that the province cancelled the contracts was the fact that they could not find a solution to the possibility of risk to the existing tunnel by constructing a new tunnel next to it," Harvey said, "and it actually has to be buried a lot deeper than the current tunnel. Then you have all these problems with regards to possible slippage."

Harvey said the contractor's safety concerns are very serious. He wants provincial officials to appear at Delta City Council to explain themselves directly. "If we lose the connection, we have serious, serious problems in the Lower Mainland with regards to not having a crossing in that location."

The constant delays are not acceptable for people commuting through the tunnel daily, Harvey added. "I've gone through the tunnel just the other day. It was awful. We actually have staff that live in Vancouver and came to work for us in Delta. They didn't last much more than six months." While Harvey once believed the project would be completed around 2030, that timeline is now "extremely clouded."

The province says it received "good value" from the contractor and made steady progress with design, but is taking the project back to a competitive process to seek better value for taxpayers. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth confirmed the change without disclosing the contractor's specific safety findings.