According to a local news report, Metro Vancouver is firing the contractor drilling tunnels for its $600-million water filtration plant on the North Shore due to a dispute over construction delays. Work on two 7.1 kilometre tunnels inside Grouse Mountain was halted in mid-January after concerns that an area of unstable rock could threaten worker safety, the article said. Metro had filed a work plan it said addresses the concerns, but German firm Bilfinger Berger refused to resume work unless Metro agreed to reopen the contract and pay more money.
The tunnels will connect North Shore reservoirs to the new Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant, the article said, noting the project is now six months behind schedule.
Bilfinger’s $100-million bid for the tunnel work was much lower than the next lowest bid of $186 million, the article said.
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