WELLINGTON NORTH – Four deteriorating county bridges near Arthur will soon be replaced.
On March 27, county council awarded the contract for the work to Mississauga-based Graham Bros. Construction Limited for $16.2 million.
With HST, professional fees and a contingency fee, the total tender cost is $22.3 million.
Graham Bros. has until the fall of 2028 to complete all four bridges.
On March 4, the county received five submissions from pre-qualified bridge and culvert contractors. The lowest bid was $16.2 million and the highest was $19.1 million.
“All four are about the same level of distress in terms of age … they were all built within five years of each other,” county roads department manager Joe de Koning told the Advertiser.
The bridges, located on Wellington Road 109, east of the Highway 6 intersection in Arthur, were built in the 1930s.
“They are all at the end of life,” De Koning added.
He noted the earliest construction activity can be expected is May, with a $100,000 incentive if all the bridges are completed by October 2027.
An added $25,000 incentive is up for grabs if Graham Bros. complete the second bridge east of Highway 6 by October 2026.
The contractor is to begin first with the second bridge, using a single lane approach to ensure roads stay open for drivers. The two-way traffic will be controlled by temporary traffic signals.
“They can’t start on the first bridge (closest to Highway 6) because of hydro relocations that need to be done,” de Koning said.
This method is expected to be used for bridges two, three and four. For bridge one, a temporary bridge will be installed adjacent to the existing bridge site to carry traffic during ongoing construction of the permanent.
Proposed improvements
Each bridge is proposed to increase in width, including:
- bridge one by 46 per cent;
- bridge two by 47%; and
- bridge three and four by 18%.
All bridges currently have a width of 11.5m, except bridge one, which is slightly larger at 11.6m.
Funding and project costs
The $22.3-million project is being funded several different ways. The roads capital reserve will account for $12.6-million, while the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program grant will account for $4.1-million.
Other funding includes:
- $3.9-million from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund;
- $1.5-million from the Canada Community Building Fund; and
- $149,400 from the township’s 2022 capital budget.
The project costs include the tender, professional fees and a $4.3-million
contingency fee.
A March 11 financial summary notes the contingency fee is carried higher to match budget forecasts to account for additional risk with tariffs. The amount will be re-evaluated as part of the 2026 budget process.
The summary goes on to list the “actuals to date” or expenses the county has already paid.
The county has paid $676,600 for professional fees, $8,700 for contracted construction and $81,400 for utility relocates.
“Most of the costs incurred to date relate to engineering and design work for the bridges,” county treasurer Ken DeHart told the Advertiser in a March 27 email.
“[This] is done ahead of time and helps inform the scope of the project and bid documents that are put together for the contractors to bid on.”
“Utilities are often required to be moved for the purposes of construction,” he said. “It may be a temporary or permanent relocation.”
The roads committee reviewed the tender amount and recommended council approval.
