The saga over a collapsed wall ? which halted the $2.9 million Hamilton bus terminal project ? enters a new phase today.

The site will be handed over to contractors this morning, with the Corporation of Hamilton picking up the tab for a new wall.

It was on September 19 that the wall dividing City Hall and Washington Street apparently collapsed on top of two construction workers. While neither was seriously hurt, work on the bus terminal ground to a screeching halt with Transport Minister Ewart Brown and Hamilton Corporation Mayor Lawson Mapp exchanging words on who was to blame and who would remedy the problem.

Mr. Mapp said it was discovered at the 11th hour that the wall was in danger of collapsing.

"Obviously it would have been very dangerous to have the bus station open with the wall like that. It could have come crashing down on passengers," he said.

Dr. Brown, meanwhile, hit back saying he was "extremely disappointed" at the Corporation for failing to act on the wall since 2002.

However, the Mayor said problems were not apparent three years ago and only came to light this year. The Corporation ultimately agreed to replace the wall. Mr. Mapp said on Friday that he could not reveal how much construction of a new wall would cost, but said it was a "sizeable amount" ? paid for by the Corporation. The completion date is set for 14 weeks' time. Earlier this year, Works and Engineering Minister, Ashfield DeVent announced the completion date would be towards the end of summer ? already four months after the original completion date and half a million dollars over budget.

The Hamilton hub is now costing close to $2.9 million.

Last week the central bus terminal in Hamilton, which according to Tourism and Transport Minister was "substantially near completion" in July this year, was hauntingly deserted most of the time.

Government decided to replace the old bus terminal, which was built in the 1970s as it could no longer meet the needs of commuters. Concerns were also raised about inadequate coverage during bad weather and a lack of capacity for buses pulling in to service over three million passenger rides annually.