Moncton is looking at hitting contractors with stiffer penalty clauses for failing to finish their projects on time.

The discussion of higher fines comes as a stretch of road on Westmount Boulevard next to Jones Lake, that was supposed to be finished at the end of October, remains a kilometre of mud and exposed pipes.

'I'm hoping they get this paved before the snow flies but you know I'm not optimistic. They claim they'll get it done, I don't know.'— Coun. Merrill Henderson

The contract was supposed to start on July 5 and end on Oct. 25.

Coun. Merrill Henderson said the $500 a day fine is not enough to make sure some contractors respect their delivery dates.

Henderson said he is particularly upset about work being done on Westmount Boulevard.

"The worst thing about it is it takes so long to do the job. It's seems to be dragging on and on and on," Henderson said.

"It started in June and here it is half way through November. I'm hoping they get this paved before the snow flies but you know I'm not optimistic. They claim they'll get it done, I don't know."

Norman Carson, a spokesperson for the contractor, said the almost endless rain this fall hasn't helped the construction.

"It's been a nightmare the whole time we've been on this road," Carson said.

The company expects to have the street paved within two weeks.

Penalty clauses

Alcide Richard, a city engineer, said he first noticed problems with the Westmount Boulevard construction project back in August.

He said the contractor was also trying to work on another road project at the same time.

Richard said this was a record year for construction. Moncton spent roughly $27 million on construction projects compared to $20 million in a normal year.

Richard said contractors in the region were exceptionally busy but he is still recommending the city toughen up the fines for being late, which right now are $500 a day.

"We'll try to tighten up our specs and our penalty clauses to try and ensure that we don't hit this too much in the future," Richard said.

"But it's not realistic to think this is never going to happen again."