Truckers angry with low hauling rates are threatening to halt work on projects like the South Fraser Perimeter Road and the expansion of the Port Mann Bridge and Highway 1.

Up to 200 trucks haul gravel and excavated material to and from the $2.46-billion Port Mann project.

But B.C. Teamsters president Don McGill said that work could grind to a halt unless there's a deal to increase rates.

"These guys are geared for a fight," McGill said. "They're talking about withdrawing their services industry-wide."

An owner-operator is paid $65 to $85 per hour depending on the rig type, rates McGill says are well below what had been paid and insufficient for haulers to survive after they cover the costs of maintenance, tires and insurance.

The Teamsters argue Peter Kiewit and Sons Co., the lead contractor on the Port Mann/Highway 1 project, can afford to pay more.

The firm has a fixed-price contract from the province but the recession has driven construction costs down at least 10 per cent, McGill claims, translating into big profits on the project for the Nebraska-based firm.

He said truckers are also waiting up to five months for payment, effectively forcing them to help finance the project.

"These projects should be here to stimulate our economy, not bankrupt it and that's what's going on here," McGill said.

He admits the truckers agreed to work for the rates many now consider to be too low.

"They've just realized they can't hang on any longer."

Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of B.C. president Philip Hochstein scoffs at the Teamsters' claims.

"It won't stop the project," he said.

The Teamsters represent a relatively small number of truckers at the site, Hochstein said, adding most haulers are either non-union or represented by the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), a rival union considered to be more pliant with employers.

If Teamsters park their rigs, he said, Kiewit can simply buy and run their own trucks and hire other drivers who would become CLAC members.

"Really what this is is an inter-union fight," Hochstein said, adding the Teamsters are "trying to rewrite history."

Transportation ministry spokesman Jeff Knight said Victoria is monitoring the situation, but said the dispute doesn't directly involve the province.

Kiewit spokesman Kent Grisham, reached in Omaha, said the firm isn't overly concerned but would not discuss contingency plans to deal with any labour disruption.

He said rates paid to truckers are market-driven and established through negotiation with brokers.

"We don't hire them directly," Grisham said, noting subcontractors arrange hauling work through the brokers.

Work to build the new 10-lane Port Mann Bridge and twin Highway 1 from Langley to Vancouver is 20 per cent complete, he said.

"It's going well and exactly as we anticipated."