The town has deferred a bridge reconstruction project until 2014, in light of a new report indicating repairs will be more extensive than expected.
Reconstruction of the 16th Line bridge had been scheduled for 2013. Municipal officials have applied for funding through the provincial Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative (MIII) to assist with estimated $300,000 cost of the project.
However, at the March 19 meeting, public works director Brian Hansen noted a soil report completed by engineers Gamsby and Mannerow as part of the design work, provided results that were “unexpectedly poor.”
In his report to council, Hansen stated, “It is expected the cost of the project will increase considerably to address soil conservation, making this project unattainable for this season.” Hansen noted the bridge structure has been rapidly deteriorating. “The banks supporting the structure are on the verge of giving way, which could eventually cause the road to collapse,” the report states.
At Hansen’s recommendation, council agreed to place a load limit on the bridge until the re-construction is completed. Hansen initially asked for a six-tonne load limit on the bridge, but council agreed to lower that to five-tonnes to match an existing seasonal load restriction on the road itself. While the restriction is in place, Hansen said staff would proceed with a traffic count to assist with the final decision and design options to address soil concerns will be completed. Deferring the work until 2014 will allow the town time to find out if the MIII funding application is approved.
Added costs could be covered through the 2014 federal gas tax allocation and road reserves, Hansen suggested.
“Is the load restriction enough, when I read ‘are on the verge of giving way which could eventually cause the road to collapse’…?” asked councillor Mary Lou Colwell.
Hansen replied the bridge situation has existed for “quite some time” and he felt the half-load restriction would suffice to cover safety concerns, “but you can’t guarantee something like that, it’s impossible to know.”
CAO Bill White said, “The engineer that’s giving us advice has not told us to close it so we’re comfortable, with the load restriction, that we’ll be fine.”
Hansen said, “We’re going to keep an eye on this, like weekly.” He suggested council join him on a road trip to get an idea of the state of bridges around Minto. “I’d like to take council on a tour, because this is not the only bridge, and I had my eyes opened when I went for a tour with our roads foreman on how many bridges and culverts that are going to have to be replaced over the next 50 years, and it’s not going to be cheap, it’s phenomenal.”
Deputy mayor Terry Fisk said, “Probably what’s even scarier is if you look at the reserves. I think we have $23 in the bridge reserve fund, so it’s a big, big problem.”
