THUNDER BAY – Work to rebuild the Edward Street Bridge is set to begin in May, assuming the nearly $6.5 million contract recommended by city administration gets the green light from city council on Monday.
Workers from LH North Ltd., which submitted the lowest bid for the project, were on site taking measurements Thursday morning.
The bridge, which crosses the Neebing River between Parkway Drive and Riverview Drive, will be fully reconstructed, with the addition of a multi-use trail underneath the structure on the south side.
That work is expected to close the bridge for the length of construction season, said project engineer Mike Vogrig.
“Sometimes we try to keep two lanes open, but it’s typically more expensive, and in this particular case with the full replacement, we decided to do a full shut-down of the road,” he said.
Enbridge is set to begin moving a gas line that currently runs underneath it on the week of May 3, with bridge work expected to start in earnest on the week of May 17 and conclude in October or November.
Detours will be posted, and access will be allowed along side streets close to the bridge for local traffic only.
City council will vote Monday on a recommendation to award the tender to LH North, which submitted the lowest bid at $6,458,418.95 (corrected).
That came in over $400,000 below the next closest bid, with three competitors for the tender. It also beat the pre-tender engineering estimate of $7,138,434.59.
LH North has extensive experience with both the MTO and the City completing bridge rehabilitation and reconstruction projects, a report from Vogrig notes.
If approved by council, the project will also include $237,528.26 (including HST)
Consulting engineering services be awarded to the firm of WSP Ltd. with an agreement approved in the amount of $237,528.26 [inclusive of HST] for construction administration and inspection associated with this contract. WSP Ltd. has been responsible for the detailed design of the bridge replacement
The real project cost, after HST rebates, is estimated at $6,029,907.86.
The city set aside $6 million for the project in its 2021 budget.
The work includes installation of new piles, abutments, and concrete girders, a new deck, and repaving.
In addition to the new trail and new lighting on the south side of the bridge, the multi-use trail on the north side will be re-graded to meet the latest accessibility standard.
A cost analysis of continued rehabilitation of the bridge versus full replacement found similar results for both options, said Vogrig. However, replacement was deemed to be a more cost-effective option in the long-run, he said.
“With the full replacement, even though we have a higher up-front cost, we don’t run the risk of having to prematurely replace the bridge deck again if the piles don’t reach their useful life,” he said.
Eight of the girders from the current bridge will be salvaged for reuse in future pedestrian bridge projects.
The contract includes a contingency allowance for work that is unforeseen and can only be expended with the approval of the General Manager of Infrastructure and Operations.
-With files from Ryan Bonazzo, TBT News.
