THE City of Mandurah has confirmed a $1 million cost blow-out for the construction of the Mandurah pedestrian bridge, dubbed by some locals the “bridge to nowhere”.
Construction contractor McConnell Dowell successfully brought legal action against the City last year for a three-month delay in construction in April due to safety concerns.
McConnell Dowell was awarded damages for the delay by an adjudicator appointed under construction contract legislation, even though the contract had been negotiated by the City for a guaranteed maximum price.
At a council meeting on Tuesday night, City chief Mark Newman defended the construction of the bridge, even though some locals had dubbed it the “bridge to nowhere”.
Mr Newman said the bridge was a wonderful asset to the community, and it was extremely unfortunate the City’s relationship with McConnell Dowell had reached this point.
“It will be a bridge to a large and growing community,” he said.
“The Mandurah train station is the only one on that line that was not connected to both sides of the road.”
Councillor Fred Riebeling apologised to ratepayers for the cost blow-out.
“There are a number of projects that will have to be put off to balance the budget, but most will only be put off to the next financial year,” he said.
“It may be the case that some roads will take eight months instead of one month, and I apologise to ratepayers, but it’s better than a huge deficit.”
In a statement, the City said the cost of the footbridge was now $8 million, of which the City had contributed $2.5 million.
A spokesperson for McConnell Dowell did not comment on the decision.
