Controversial Langford interchange project comes to a halt as economy wilts
Work on the controversial Spencer Road highway interchange has come to a halt due to the slowing economy and hopes for federal and provincial money.
Construction stopped in late June on the first phase of the project, which is intended to provide access to the Bear Mountain development and other residential projects on Skirt Mountain, although Langford engineers say it's still on target to be completed by fall 2010.
John Manson, Langford city engineer, said construction on the mountain has slowed due to the economic downturn, so the roadwork isn't as urgently needed as was planned. It means the municipality can save money by staggering construction over a longer period to take advantage of lower construction rates.
"It's just being fiscally prudent," said Manson.
So far, work completed includes the construction of the overpass over the Trans-Canada Highway, and some adjoining road grading. Work that remains to be done includes final road grading and paving, construction of a retaining wall, installation of utilities, and upgrading of Leigh Road.
The engineering department is now going ahead with tender documents for an estimated $3 million in underground service work, including electrical wiring, storm drainage, sewers and water. That work will probably go out to tender in October.
Halting the construction also means the municipality can apply for grant money from the federal government to complete the second phase of the project, said Langford Mayor Stew Young.
The grant application, worth about $32 million according to the Engineering Department, would pay for on- and off-ramps, improvements to the highway, construction of new a road called the North Langford Connector and a pedestrian overpass. The second phase had originally been slated to be done some time in the next 10 years.
Since projects already underway aren't eligible for grant money, Young said construction has halted while the application is considered. "If we do any work on it, we won't get any grants."
But opponents to the interchange, which has been controversial from the start due to the plan to have it financed by developers and because environmentalists argued its construction threatened caves and sensitive ecosystems, say the delays invite suspicion.
"They have experienced the boom. Those were the good times, now comes the bust," said Zoe Blunt, one of the fiercest critics of the interchange and its financing. "We were sold a whole interchange, not half an interchange."
Originally proposed as an additional connection across the Trans-Canada to take pressure off the Millstream Road connector, as well as provide access to the developments on Skirt Mountain, the project's first phase was estimated to cost about $35 million. But the municipality ran into problems attempting to secure financing.
It had sought authorization from the Municipal Finance Authority -- a type of credit union for municipalities -- to borrow up to $25 million on behalf of five developers in the area who would pay the money back over 10 years. The proposal sparked a petition protest that gathered more than 2,250 signatures of Langford residents who believed they should have been consulted about the borrowing.
After the MFA was put off by what was called the Langford's "non-traditional" approach, the municipality opted to borrow $9.75 million itself from a bank and have developers to make the loan payments. The developers also agreed to borrow another $9.75 million for the project.
Other financing for the project includes a $4.5-million grant from the province, $7 million raised by selling surplus municipal land and $2.5 million in money recovered from development charges.
So far, Langford says it has spent about $6 million of its borrowed $9.75 million on the first phase. When it's fully spent, the developers will start paying it back over 10 years, said Ron Coutre, partner in Skirt Mountain Village Ltd., one of three developers engaged in an enormous 2,800-home project slated for the area adjacent to Goldstream Park.