Yukon MLA raises questions about pace of Teslin bridge replacement

The Yukon government is set to mark the start of work on the Nisutlin Bay Bridge replacement, but some are frustrated that the project isn't moving at a quicker pace.

The bridge is a critical transportation link for moving people and goods into the Yukon. Opened in 1955, the current bridge is nearing the end of its lifespan. Its replacement promises to be safer for road users and able to handle more traffic and larger loads.

According to the Yukon government's website, the contract for the job was awarded in the spring. This spring and summer would have seen site preparation and construction begin.

Decommissioning the old bridge would happen between the fall of 2025 and spring the next year. Construction would be complete in spring 2026.

The government says a groundbreaking ceremony will take place in Teslin Friday to celebrate the beginning of work on the $160-million replacement.

This is a milestone that Yukon Party MLA Stacey Hassard believes should have been achieved in the summer. He expected more progress by now.

"The concrete abutments should have been poured in place. There probably should have been somewhere in the neighbourhood of 30,000 [cubic] metres of gravel moved already to put a preload on those abutments so that they would have time to settle into place," said Hassard, the MLA for Pelly-Nisutlin.

"A lot of work should have taken place already, and unfortunately none of that has happened."

During question period this week, Hassard pressed the government for an update on the project. 

Hassard said regulatory approvals, like a water licence, have not been finalized to let the contractor start work. As well, he raised questions about where construction aggregate is being sourced. He said the contractor is still searching for "suitable rock" to use for riprap (a cover of loose stones that protect against soil erosion due to runoff).

Highways and Public Works Minister Nils Clarke said the previous government left behind an infrastructure deficit and the bridge replacement was supposed to proceed in 2014 but was cancelled due to "insufficient consultation."

He also cited challenges including the pandemic, disruptions to supply chains and the war in Ukraine.

Clarke did not provide an answer to Hassard's question about aggregate, saying he will give one "in due time" if his department hadn't done so already.

On the question of finding rock, Clarke said he put his trust in the contractor, Graham Infrastructure LP, that "this is not their first rodeo, and I have confidence that they know what they are doing with respect to this large infrastructure project."

When speaking to reporters, Clarke said water licences were, in fact, in place. He mentioned "preparatory work" being done before quickly turning to Friday's groundbreaking. Clarke also said the contractor planned to begin pile driving this fall.

"It's on track to be completed within three construction years," he said.

However, Hassard is skeptical.

"It was supposed to be a three-year project but obviously this year is completely gone now," he said.

"It's almost the 20th of October and none of the groundwork has happened yet. We all know what the building season is in the Yukon, and November and December aren't usually that conducive to pouring concrete and moving dirt."