Bridge delays agitated a Fredericton community. Here's what went wrong behind the scenes
Relationship between contractor Julmac and province quickly deteriorated, documents show
When New Brunswick fired an Ontario-based contractor for protracted and costly delays on three major bridge contracts, the company had finally completed work at another bridge in the province.
And on that one — the rehabilitation of the Marysville Bridge in Fredericton — emails obtained by CBC news indicate tensions behinds the scenes had reached a boiling point with Julmac Contracting Ltd.
A veritable mountain of documents — well over 3,000 pages — reveals how the province's relationship with Julmac worsened as the Marysville project ran into numerous troubles.
At one point, the frustrated contractor called government engineers incompetent. At another, Julmac said it was being "held ransom" by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Lost 3 jobs this winter
Julmac Contracting was removed from working on the Mactaquac Dam near Fredericton and the Centennial and Anderson Bridges in Miramichi in mid-February.
Although issues related to that decision are part of legal proceedings, the documents CBC obtained about the work Julmac did on the Marysville Bridge, although a separate project, offer a window into how the company and province interact.
Julmac won the contract in February 2022, for work that included replacing the bridge deck, widening the sidewalk, replacing the bridge joint, and work on the bridge piers.
The bridge was finished at a cost of $7.9 million in October 2024, just slightly above the original cost estimate but well past the initial November 2023 target date for completion. Delays getting the work done angered local people who faced long waits in their daily commutes. The bridge was reduced to a single lane for much of construction, which spanned three summers.
Last April, CBC made a right to information request for all documents related to the construction and delays at the bridge since work began.
The request was answered nine months later with a package that mostly included emails between DTI engineers and managers, Julmac, and EXP, the architecture consultant hired for the project. All references to legal advice, contract prices, cost estimates, and names of all non-government employees were redacted.
DTI officials would not talk about Julmac because of issues before the courts, spokesperson Jacob MacDonald said.
But Julmac president Derek Martin said in an interview that all of the Marysville delays were the fault of the government.
Many issues, including faulty engineering data and problems getting materials, are to be expected for bridge rehab projects, Martin said, and DTI did not agree to the time extensions that Julmac sought.
"Could that job been done a lot quicker? Of course it could be — if DTI would have had a better working relationship with Julmac," Martin said.
"When two people are going to be off on a standoff all the time, it's not good. And the ones that feel it at the end of the day is is the travelling public."
The documents show DTI officials have a different view of how the Marysville project progressed.
An early start
Problems were identified soon out of the gate.
A month after Julmac got the contract, a DTI employee said in an April 2022 email that he was meeting with Julmac to discuss "concerns about resources considering they are behind schedule on 2 contracts at the Centennial Bridge."
Minutes from a November meeting said DTI was concerned "there may not be enough contractor staff to complete all the work that has to be done in 2022."
Julmac promised staffing would increase to 16 from seven, but the minutes said the company "continues to state that they don't have a staffing issue."
Safety concerns also arose before the year was out. A DTI engineer wrote to Julmac on Dec. 16 about unsecured scaffolding at the site.
"There has been no confirmation from any of Julmac staff contacting the scaffolding company to have the repairs completed," a DTI email said. "As far as DTI is aware the temporary jacking is not being inspected on a daily basis."
Issues piled up into the spring of 2023, when Julmac claimed several monthly payments were outstanding.
In June, Julmac said DTI "is holding us ransom," and it would claim interest on the disputed late payments.
Two weeks later, on June 19, Julmac threatened to sue. DTI employee Don Patterson responded the same day, saying the department had promised to process payments quickly.
"This commitment was made in the interest [of] collaboration in spite of the fact that Julmac had not submitted updated schedules for Anderson, Mactaquac, [Marysville] or Centennial bridges," Patterson wrote, mentioning three of the bridges bridge projects Julmac would later be fired from.
"Unfortunately, DTI still does not have updated schedules for all of the contracts. This is disappointing."
Julmac cites faulty data
Problems continued into the summer of 2023. In July, Julmac said supplied engineering data for the bridge deck elevation contained errors, holding up progress for a month. An email from a DTI engineer on July 10 said updated data would be provided.
On July 14, Julmac sent its first request for a timeline extension, asking for 145 days.
"We firmly believe that the circumstances surrounding the delay in completing the project were beyond our control and justify an extension of time," Julmac wrote. Less than a month later, Julmac wrote, "It's impossible to complete this year even if I put 100 guys there."
Julmac's request was denied on Sept. 6 by DTI engineer Darren Colford, who said the request lacked documentation. He levied a $415,000 late penalty.
Two days later, Julmac sent another extension request because of issues with underwater work on submerged parts of the bridge. The company claimed a product that DTI had contractually required Julmac to use for this work was, in fact, not usable.
Julmac also said DTI's denial of the first extension lacked an explanation.
"This seems very unreasonable and unprofessional, especially with a penalty of $415,000 tagged on this," Julmac wrote.
In more emails the same day, Julmac adopted a harsher tone, again threatening lawsuits.
"Is it [DTI's] intention to try and bankrupt Julmac as we continue to work on all projects! This is completely offside for the contracts that we signed," a company email said. "This has been a constant on all projects that Julmac is currently engaged in."
DTI denied Julmac's second extension request on Sept. 28 because the challenges of the underwater work "were well known to all parties since bidding time." The department added that Julmac's request did not say how much time was needed.
"[We] will not be able to approve an open extension of time requests that don't slow the contractor's plan to execute the contractual scope," wrote DTI.
Work schedules 'showing no plan' to finish project
Colford warned Julmac on Oct. 18 that its project schedules were "substandard, illogical, and showing no plan for finishing the scope of work."
"The unavailability of a reliable work schedule will increase the risk of not obtaining approval for an extension request and therefore having a project completion delay penalty applied."
The department had earlier warned Julmac that no site superintendent was observed on site.
"Not providing such key team members as per the contractual requirements might cause poor quality, mismanagement, safety risks, poor communications, and further delays," DTI wrote.
In a reply, Julmac said payments for July, August and September were still outstanding.
Julmac sent a third extension request on Nov. 30 and said issues with the bridge deck elevation "were beyond the control and are no fault of the contractor," adding the expected completion was now September 2024.
Julmac says DTI staff 'under qualified'
The superintendent issue persisted into December, when EXP asked Julmac to hire one "with an acceptable experience level to run the site activities."
This brought an outburst.
"Julmac has no problem supplying CV's for all our staffs to show that they are capable of performing the work," said the writer of one Julmac email.
He said he doubted DTI would do the same, "as it is quite clear in my observations over the past 12 months that most positions are filled with under qualified staff!"
The email also said "any superintendent that we [currently] have working would completely outrank" the EXP engineer. CBC News asked EXP for an interview but did not receive a response.
In another email that day, Julmac said, "In terms of competent oversight of the projects it is yourself that is most questionable."
The company continued: "I have requested of DTI to demonstrate to JCL that you have the requisite relevant experience to make ANY decisions on assessments as it relates to any of the project's technical, commercial, or contractual requirements."
Martin said in an interview that the claims of inaccurate project schedules and no superintendent on site were "without merit."
Julmac's third extension request was denied on Jan. 2, 2024, with DTI granting only 40 days out of the 140 requested, because "no supporting documents" were included.
"DTI identified several causes of delays: shortage of materials and workforce, delay in design and submittals, unavailability of superintendent, unavailability of traffic agent, sub-standing working schedules," DTI wrote.
"These delay causes are the contractor's responsibility."
As spring 2024 arrived, Julmac sued DTI for $27 million, claiming it was treated unfairly compared to local companies.
Julmac still out millions, owner says
That fall, to the relief of frustrated residents who had become accustomed to months of lengthy delays, the Marysville bridge was finally completed.
Martin said he is still seeking compensation of several million dollars he claims Julmac is owed on the Marysville project.
While based in Ontario, Julmac wants to continue working in New Brunswick, he said. Most of Julmac's recent contracts have been in New Brunswick, and many of his young workers have moved to the province in anticipation of long-term work under DTI contracts.
Still, if given another chance, Martin said, he would not have done anything differently.
"I wouldn't mind apologizing to the public for the delay," he said, "because I know it's a main hub for people getting in and out," he said.
"The contractor takes the brunt of it."
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