Statement from Ontario NDP Transportation Critic Wayne Gates

Engineering reports on Nipigon Bridge failure show lack of government oversight.

Ontario NDP Transportation Critic Wayne Gates issued the following statement:

“The upshot of these independent engineering studies is that the Nipigon Bridge failed because the Liberal government didn’t take their project oversight responsibilities seriously. Any engineering and design installation failures should have been caught before the Ministry of Transportation opened the Nipigon Bridge to passenger traffic in the first place.

 The buck stops with the Minister of Transportation. Unfortunately, by keeping Ontarians in the dark for more than 8 months, he has seriously eroded public confidence in the safety of Ontario’s road and bridge network. Without any further delay, Minister Del Duca must tell Ontarians exactly how much his government’s failures will cost Ontarians, whether the repairs could end up costing us more than $12 million, and what concrete steps he will take to make sure that such a dangerous lack of government oversight never happens again.”‎