Hidden Red Hill friction report ‘made no sense whatsoever’: former Hamilton engineering boss

Hamilton's former engineering boss says the findings of an infamously buried friction report at the heart of the Red Hill scandal made no sense whatsoever" and did not represent a safety issue on the crash-prone parkway.

Longtime engineering director Gary Moore, who retired from the city in 2018, answered questions publicly for the first time about the controversial report in a virtual judicial inquiry Monday.

The judge-led probe, which could end up costing taxpayers $18 million, was requested by city council in 2019 after the bombshell revelation that Red Hill friction tests were hidden from the public for years despite long-standing rumours the parkway was slippery.

Over the time the report was buried, four people died and 200 vehicles crashed on the roadway. A Spec investigation in 2017 showed twice a many serious crashes on the parkway compared to the Linc.

Moore, a central inquiry figure who will be on the stand most of this week, confirmed he received the Tradewind Scientific friction report on the Red Hill Valley Parkway in January 2014 as part of a larger six-year performance review of the roadway by Golder Associates.

The city has told the inquiry it can find no evidence Moore ever shared the friction report with other municipal staffers.

The Tradewind report found notably lower friction on the Red Hill compared to the Lincoln Alexander Parkway and recommended more study and possible remedial action." As a result, Golder's performance review recommended microsurfacing" of the parkway asphalt to deal with friction concerns.

But no repairs related to friction happened until after the Tradewind report resurfaced in 2019, spurring a fast-tracked repaving and reduction of the parkway speed limit.

Moore has never answered Spectator questions or agreed to an interview about the friction report since it resurfaced.

When questioned by an inquiry lawyer Monday, Moore acknowledged consultants from both Tradewind and Golder identified a low-friction problem.

But he called those 2013 findings totally inconsistent" with previous provincial friction tests done after the parkway opened in 2007 that left him confident the parkway was good to go."

By contrast, Moore repeatedly questioned the applicability of the Tradewind findings - in particular, the use of some standard from a foreign country" to evaluate good or poor friction.

For the 2013 friction tests on the Red Hill, Tradewind relied on Griptester" measurement technology often used on airport runways and compared the results to a U.K. friction standard in the absence of a Canadian equivalent for roads.

Moore noted the average Tradewind friction numbers appeared higher than those recorded in 2007 by the Ministry of Transportation, adding to his confusion. (The province used a different friction testing method.)

It made no sense whatsoever," he said.

Moore said he sought but never" received clarity from Golder on his questions about the Tradewind methodology.

His contention appears at odds with earlier testimony from Golder principal Ludomir Uzarowski, who previously told the inquiry Moore did not raise concerns about the Tradewind friction standards in a meeting held in February 2014 to discuss recommended asphalt fixes.

Golder will have the opportunity to cross-examine Moore later this week.

Regardless, the former director said he never felt the 2013 friction test results represented a public safety issue or that there was any urgency" to Golder's recommended road fixes.

Moore also said he told Golder the city was unlikely to try the recommended microsurfacing because of past bad experiences with the asphalt surface treatment in the past.

Inquiry lawyer Emily Lawrence asked Moore if Tradewind's low-friction results spurred him to revisit a 2013 safety review of the Red Hill by consultant CIMA. That study pointed out a higher proportion of wet-weather crashes on the parkway and also separately contemplated friction testing.

Moore said his understanding at that point was wet-weather crashes were mostly linked to speeding.

Moore said he didn't believe he ever shared the Tradewind report with other city staffers. He also said he wasn't sure if he had shared all or part of the larger performance review, at one point noting his reluctance to share a draft report he had problems" with.

Lawrence repeatedly asked why Moore did not share the friction report at various points. For example:

• he had offered in 2013 to alert traffic and risk management staffers when friction testing was done;

• he was asked outright by CIMA for friction information for a followup safety review in 2015;

• he met repeatedly with city traffic staffers about the review, which contemplated future friction tests.

Moore noted he shared a chart of average friction numbers with CIMA, but not the report itself. I don't recall anyone ever asking me for a copy of the report, specifically," he said at one point.

His testimony continues Tuesday.

Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com