Photo credit: HSR
Although construction on Hamilton’s new bus barn has not yet begun, the project is already over budget by about $70 million.
The project was originally pegged at around $264 million according to a July 2021 Government of Canada funding breakdown.
A joint funding announcement was made back in 2021 with the federal government pledging $100 million, the provincial government providing $83.3 million and the City of Hamilton planning to cover the remaining $81 million.
The increase in cost was realized when the city sought bids on the project and all of them came in over budget.
Councillors eventually voted to award the project to Quebec-based construction company Pomerleau, which brought in the lowest bid at $331 million.
Pomerleau recently completed the construction of a new 585,000 square foot Canada Post processing centre in East Scarborough and are also working on a contract to refurbish St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal.
The increase in costs is being attributed to inflation.
The Hamilton Spectator broke the news that the City of Hamilton is now also asking the federal and provincial governments for more money to help cover the escalating costs.
Under that plan the city was expected to only be responsible for 30 per cent of the final cost of the project.
With costs ballooning, unless the city is able to get more funding from the federal government and/or the province, the city will likely be on the hook for $151 million which is over 45 per cent of the overall costs.
However, it looks like the city is going to move forward with the project no matter how much it will eventually cost.
The new bus barn is slated to be at 330 Wentworth Street North near Barton Street East, a block over from the General Hospital.
The property is beside a City of Hamilton public works garage.
The city currently does not have enough indoor parking for the city’s buses, so many of them have to be parked outside which results in increased maintenance costs and reportedly reduces their lifespan.
Additionally, with the new bus barn located in the lower city, lower city buses will no longer have to return all the way to Upper James at the end of the night.
The new facility will operate in tandem with the current Mountain garage and will take about two years to construct.
It is also considered critical to the city’s “(Re)envision the HSR” major transit overhaul project which would see the city significantly increase bus service.
According to the initial project plans, the bus barn will also have 30 bus repair bays, a bus wash facility, offices for HSR dispatch and administration, a five-storey parking garage for employees and other employee amenities.
The city had originally hoped to have the facility open by the end of 2024, although, given it is a two-year project, it appears that the timeline is delayed.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
