Reality Check: More money, more problems for Regina Bypass

The most expensive stretch of flat road in Canadian history was completed today.

But before the Sask. Party pops the bubbly, it's worth reminding people of the scandal-plagued, flawed process that left us holding the bag for an almost $2 billion stretch of road:

The Regina Bypass was originally projected to cost $400 million. At a final price tag of $1.88 billion, the project exceeded initial estimates by almost $1.5 billion.
The Sask. Party’s decision to hire a French conglomerate froze out local contractors, funneling public money out of the province.
Costs rose significantly to accommodate the scandal-plagued Global Transportation Hub. Bill Boyd, then-Minister of the GTH, pushed for expensive accommodations to the build to benefit the major tenant of the GTH, claiming that there was a “commitment” to build an interchange guaranteeing "free-flow access." There is no evidence such a commitment was ever made.
Over 1,100 minor deficiencies have so far been detected in the build. The Sask. Party redacted the list of major deficiencies, but indicated that the breaching of an aquifer was one.
Truckers and farmers found the Regina Bypass roundabouts too small to navigate.
When a truck got stuck in a roundabout and diverted traffic was stranded in Balgonie due to a blocked exit, it took more than 12 hours for the conglomerate to respond.
Then-Deputy Minister to the Premier Alanna Koch dismissed the frustrations of Balgonie residents over the truck issue as “urban myth hysteria.”
The bypass is owned on behalf of the public by the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, with design, construction, operations, maintenance and snow removal to be performed by the private conglomerate for the next 30 years.

“Should we really celebrate the fact that the Sask. Party paid a French company to build the most expensive stretch of flat road in Canadian history?” asked NDP Critic for the Regina Bypass Cathy Sproule. “We paid through the nose to accommodate a Global Transportation Hub that’s now a ghost town, and we sent most of that money out of province. More money, more problems — that’s the story of this build, start to finish.

“We could have put people first by building this road with our workers and our companies. Instead, the Sask. Party has let people down yet again with their entitlement.”

Latest posts

SCOTT MOE, MINISTER REJECT SPECIAL AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE AMID SOARING COSTS, FARM OWNERSHIP CONCERNS

Major Impact To Producers As Monette Farms Moves To Creditor Protection
REGINA – Scott Moe and the Sask. Party have shot down a call from Carla Beck’s team for a Special Committee of the Legislature to focus on soaring costs for producers, farmland ownership and, specifically, the creditor protection of the Monette mega farm and its impact on producers.

SCOTT MOE’S HEALTH MINISTER ADMITS WOMEN IN MOOSE JAW WAITING AN AVERAGE 10 WEEKS FOR BREAST CANCER BIOPSIES

In Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan, Even Finding Out If You Have Cancer Comes With A Waiting List
MOOSE JAW – Carla Beck’s team is demanding a real plan to improve women’s healthcare in Moose Jaw as Scott Moe’s Health Minister has admitted even a basic breast cancer biopsy can take up to 10 weeks.

IN WAKE OF $26 BILLION COAL BOMBSHELL, SCOTT MOE BLOCKS MOTION TO MAKE ALL SASKPOWER COSTING DOCUMENTS PUBLIC

Coal Cover Up Continues As Failing Sask. Party Scrambles To Explain Ten-Fold Increase In Costs
REGINA — Scott Moe, his discredited SaskPower Minister and all other Sask. Party MLAs rejected a motion Thursday to release all costing documents related to SaskPower, one day after it was revealed the cost of the government’s coal plan is a staggering $26 billion.

CARLA BECK’S TEAM INTRODUCES BILL TO PERMANENTLY AXE TAX ON GROCERIES AND KIDS’ CLOTHES

Scott Moe’s Sask. Party Taxing Rotisserie Chickens, Chili, Packaged Salads, Kids’ Clothes and More
REGINA – Carla Beck’s team has introduced a bill to save Saskatchewan people $45 million by removing provincial sales tax from groceries and children’s clothes.