Inside CBC's Port Mann Bridge investigation

How do you research a story about the biggest transportation project in B.C. history, when no one attached to the project will speak on the record, and all you have are stacks of jargon-filled documents?

That's the problem CBC's Vancouver's investigative unit faced when someone anonymously leaked hundreds of documents last year.

• Read: 'Weak oversight' plagued B.C. megaproject, which insiders believe cost taxpayers millions
• B.C. Greens call for public inquiry into Port Mann project
• Key dates and developments in the construction of the Port Mann project

The spreadsheets, invoices, meeting notes and reviews suggested taxpayers paid needlessly to speed up construction on the Port Mann Bridge and highway project in 2012.

The crown corporationin charge of the bridge, TI Corp, denies any money was spent needlessly.

CBC reached out to several former consultants, engineers, auditors and technologists who worked on the project and six agreed to provide information as long as their names were not revealed. They were worried that speaking publicly would harm their careers.

They helped us understandthe conclusions of a report calledTI Corp PMHI Construction Claims Review.

In October of 2016, CBC News requested documents about the megaproject through a freedom of information request to get more information and authenticate some of the leaked documents.

The transportation ministry requested a $480 dollar fee, and then requested several 30-day extensions, citing the need to consult outside parties such as KPMG and the contractor.

Six months later,CBC News filed a complaint to the information and privacy commissioner, after the province's "deemed refusal" torelease the documents by the commissioner's proposed deadline of April 28, 2017, two weeks before the provincial election.

At that point, allgovernment officials declined interview requests citing a policy that they don't speak publicly during provincial election campaigns.

Finally, two-and-a half weeks after the May provincial election, the ministry released 600 pages,but all financial details and references to the word "acceleration" were whited out.

SLIDE to see what officials redacted

The ministry cited two exemptionsfor keeping that information secret: disclosure would be harmful to the financial or economic interests of a public body and disclosure would be harmful to business interests of a third party

Concerns shared with province

The FOIdocuments show that a key claimsreview was shared with provincial officials.

AKPMGclaims consultantemailed the same review that wasleaked to CBCtofour senior transportation ministry officials,including Rodney Chapman, director of construction and maintenanceand provincial adviser on the Port Mann project.

Chapman responded saying "Thanks and well done."

A month earlier, Chapman appeared to agree that TI Corpwas being "generous" with the contractor, according to another document.

"KF [Kiewit Flatiron] has been compensated well above an MoTI [Ministry of Transportation] contractor on a typical major works contract," wrote Chapman, Oct. 12, 2012.

Chapman declined CBC's interview request.

BC Liberals say acceleration needed

Todd Stone, who became minister of transportation long after the bridge opened, eventually spoke to CBC two days before his government lost a confidence vote in June.

"There was a need to accelerate some of that workI'm very satisfied the taxpayers got good value for dollars spent," said Stone in a brief interview.

Former premier Christy Clark also declined repeated written requests for an interview, as did the contractor, Kiewit Flatiron General Partnership.

TICorpmissed several deadlines to provide information andsaid no one who works at the crown corporation now was there where the Port Mann project was built, so no one could do an interview.

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Instead it arranged a meeting with a former senior official who answered questions on background only.

He provided CBC atwo-page project summaryand said TI Corpsaved taxpayers $200 million in final negotiations with the contractor.

CBC has requested documents to confirm that through an FOI request.

The crown corporation has requested two extensions and agreed to waive a $3,660 document search fee after CBC narrowed its request andargued this research is in the public interest.

CBC News Investigates

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