Last week, the beleaguered Macdonald Bridge bikeway flyover got some bad press. With construction delays and cost overruns, the city was going to be on the hook for the full $12.7 million price tag of the new estimate—but that’s now expected to be just $2.1 million.
In 2017 when the project was first announced, the estimated cost to build the flyover lane was $6.5 million. The two main reasons the price doubled when it came to council in 2022 were construction costs and a lack of knowledge among HRM staff on how to manage such a complex piece of bike infrastructure.
But even though the price has doubled, the city is still only on the hook for the agreed 17%, with the rest of the money coming from the federal and provincial governments through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. This funding is available until 2028. In an email to The Coast, a provincial spokesperson wrote: “We will continue to work with HRM on any modifications that may be requested for the Bikeway Network project, which can include timeline extensions.” Meaning if the city can complete the bike lane before 2028, it should only be on the hook for $2.1 million.
The city has been learning lessons from the process, so a lack of knowledge should not be a significant factor in delays or costs moving forward. For example, the city learned that contracting private industry on the project led to increased communication delays. HRM replaced private contractors with city employees, thus streamlining the communication.
