Updated Bridge Cost Estimates Released

Post date: May 3, 2013 5:49:21 PM

In preparation for the May 13th Public Consultation Group meeting, the study team has been posting a number of study documents on their website (www.ncrcrossings.ca). One of the more interesting studies are the cost estimates for each of the 3 bridges under consideration.

The costs are estimated to be between 1.1B$ (Corridor 5) and 1.4B$ (Corridor's 6 and 7). The bridge structure itself represents about 50% of the total costs, the roadway modifications in Ontario and Quebec another 20% with the final 30% related to design, engineering, project management, and contingencies.

Other options such as a tunnel under downtown Ottawa to link the 417 to the Macdonald-Cartier bridge were rejected several years ago partially on the grounds of being too expensive to warrant further investigation. Meanwhile the City of Ottawa has signed a contract for a downtown transit tunnel giving us some tunnel cost data points indicating what a tunnel excavation in downtown Ottawa might cost. It is certainly nowhere near the 1.1B$ to 1.4B$ now being quoted for the interprovincial bridge project!