Murray allowed installation of non-code compliant girders to proceed for months

Amid revelations that hundreds of non-code compliant girders were installed on the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway; Brian Masse M.P. (Windsor West) and Taras Natyshak M.P.P. (Essex) have written a joint letter to Ontario's Transportation Minister Glen Murray seeking answers to questions raised by this issue.

PHOTO CREDIT - NDP.ca

Windsor - July 26, 2013 - Amid revelations that hundreds of non-code compliant girders were installed on the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway; Brian Masse M.P. (Windsor West) and Taras Natyshak M.P.P. (Essex) have written a joint letter to Ontario's Transportation Minister Glen Murray seeking answers to questions raised by this issue. It has additionally come to light that both the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and the Minister himself allowed the installation of non-compliant girders to proceed with full knowledge that they did not meet code requirements.

Natyshak talked about the Minister's failure to respond in a timely manner: "It's incredible to me that it took the Minister a full 2 months to take action to address a critical safety concern on what is arguably the most important infrastructure project he will ever oversee. Why was there any delay at all? The regulations this subcontractor chose to ignore are in place to guarantee public safety, the first concern with respect to any construction project. It is not the role of companies like Freyssinet to determine the appropriate level of safety that Ontarians can expect with respect to their infrastructure."

Masse questioned the province's model for executing this project: 'This goes right to heart of how we do major infrastructure in Canada. Under this model is seems as though a subcontractor was comfortable ignoring the concerns raised by the government. What's clear here is that the government lost control of their project for months with a rogue subcontractor making up the rules to suit their bottom line."

Minister Murray is convening an 'expert panel' to investigate whether or not the non-compliant girder meet 'equivalency' with Canadian Highway and Bridge Design Code. Additionally he indicates he is reviewing the administration of the Parkway contract.

"The government is coming to the table late in the game with respect to this review. The MTO has been aware of specific compliance issues for nearly a year. It begs the question what other issues are out there." Natyshak added.