Letter to Executive Committee regarding Victoria Bridge received by City Council at its November 14, 2005, meeting

November 6, 2005


Executive Committee
City of Saskatoon
222 Third Avenue North
Saskatoon, SK S7K 0J5


Dear Committee Members:

Re: Victoria Bridge

The November 1, 2005 Infrastructure Services report states, ‘During the closure of the Victoria Bridge for the construction of the roundabout at the intersection of Spadina Crescent/3rd Avenue, Infrastructure Services had a detailed inspection of the bridge performed by Stantec Consulting.’

Why did the City not conduct an inspection of the bridge prior to the start of construction at Spadina Crescent & 3rd Avenue or perhaps even before the South Downtown Concept Plan 2004 was approved by City Council on June 21, 2004 and the Meewasin Valley Authority in October?

Stantec Consulting’s report, also dated November 1, 2005, states, ‘The City of Saskatoon (COS) commissioned Stantec Consulting Ltd. to perform a detailed inspection of the steel trusses, floor beams, stringers, and timber deck of the Victoria Avenue Bridge located in Saskatoon.’ Why was inspection of the concrete piers not included as part of the work performed?

‘The inspection occurred over the first few weeks of October and was completed on October 21, 2005.’ This seems to suggest that the inspection and reporting process were done quickly. Is this time frame typical of such work?

Stantec states, ‘Due to time constraints and the urgency in providing a preliminary report of the findings of the inspection, a complete set of all inspection photographs and member descriptions could not be compiled, and will be submitted under separate cover as Appendix B, at the earliest possible date.’

The reports by Stantec and the City do not appear to provide any details or elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the ‘time constraints’ and ‘urgency’ of the inspection and the events leading up to it. What triggered the City to bring Stantec in? When were the problems first discovered and what were they? What are the ‘time constraints’ and who imposed them? If this is a preliminary report, as Stantec suggests above, when will the final report be available?

The City’s Capital Budgets for 2003, 2004 & 2005 (excerpts below) outline the type of work the City was contemplating for the Victoria Bridge. It seems, however, that every year this important work got pushed back. Why did this happen? What specific projects were placed ahead it? The funding requested in 2003 was to ‘engineer and construct recommendations from the 2002 evaluation report as well as to determine the future of the bridge’. Was this work done? If so, what was the outcome? If not, why?

2003 Capital Budget /2004-2007 Capital Plan
0787 Traffic Bridge Rehabilitation
GROSS COST DETAILS: Rehab Steel Structures & Decks - 2003 Budget $150,000, 2005 Plan $2,792,000, Street Lighting $42,000
FINANCING DETAILS: 2005 plan appeared to be unfunded.
This project involves the staged rehabilitation of the Traffic Bridge to ensure a 5 tonne load rating is maintained over the next 20 years.
General Comments
Consultant studies in 1986 and 1991 led to structural repairs and guardrail upgrade in 1992. The load limit has been reduced from 8 to 5 tonnes until the recommended final stage of rehabilitation can be accomplished. In 1996, the pedestrian walkway was reconstructed, six new bearings installed, three new expansion joints installed, and new support piles installed at the south approach span.
The scope of this project is to extend the life of the existing structure as a vehicular traffic bridge. Closing this bridge would divert the traffic to other bridges causing congested traffic levels.
The funding requested in 2003 is to engineer and construct recommendations from the 2002 evaluation report as well as to determine the future of the bridge. The funding requested in 2005 is to enact the 2003 recommendations.
Prior Budget Approvals $1,056,000
Prior years' reflects engineering inspections, members and guardrails, partial construction of walk and retaining walls, pier evaluation, and design and some construction for the rehabilitation of steel structure and decks.

2004 CAPITAL BUDGET /2005-2008 CAPITAL PLAN
0787 VICTORIA BRIDGE REHABILITATION
GROSS COST DETAILS: REHAB STEEL STRUCTURE & DECKS 2005 Plan $2,792,000 Street Lighting $42,000
FINANCING DETAILS: Unfunded
Project Description
This project involves the staged rehabilitation of the Traffic Bridge to ensure a 5 tonne load rating is maintained over the next 20 years.
General Comments
Consultant studies in 1986 and 1991 led to structural repairs and guardrail upgrade in 1992. The load limit has been reduced from 8 to 5 tonnes until the recommended final stage of rehabilitation can be accomplished. In 1996, the pedestrian walkway was reconstructed, six new bearings installed, three new expansion joints installed, and new support piles installed at the south approach span. In 2001 the structure was resurfaced. In 2003 structural repairs were made to the railing, walkway and abutments as a result of recommendations from consultant's studies completed in 2002.
The scope of this project is to extend the life of the existing structure as a vehicular traffic bridge. Closing this bridge would divert the traffic to other bridges causing congested traffic levels.
The funding requested in 2005 is to enact the 2003 recommendations. A report will be submitted to the Planning and Operations Committee detailing alternative options.
Prior Budget Approvals $1,206,000
Prior years' reflects engineering inspections, members and guardrails, partial construction of walk and retaining walls, pier evaluation, and design and some construction for the rehabilitation of steel structure and decks.

2005 CAPITAL BUDGET /2006-2009 CAPITAL PLAN
0787 VICTORIA BRIDGE REHABILITATION
GROSS COST DETAILS: Rehab Steel Structure & Decks 2009 Plan $10,000,000, 2006 plan street lighting $42,000
FINANCING DETAILS: 2009 plan unfunded $10,000,000. Appears street lighting was unfunded as well.
Project Description
This project involves the staged rehabilitation of the Traffic Bridge to ensure a 5 tonne load rating is maintained over the next 20 years.
General Comments
Consultant studies in 1986 and 1991 led to structural repairs and guardrail upgrade in 1992. The load limit has been reduced from 8 to 5 tonnes until the recommended final stage of rehabilitation can be accomplished. In 1996, the pedestrian walkway was reconstructed, six new bearings installed, three new expansion joints installed, and new support piles installed at the south approach span. In 2001 the structure was resurfaced. In 2003 structural repairs were made to the railing, walkway and abutments as a result of recommendations from consultant's studies completed in 2002.
The scope of this project is to extend the life of the existing structure as a vehicular traffic bridge. Closing this bridge would divert the traffic to other bridges causing congested traffic levels.
The funding requested in 2009 is to enact the 2003 recommendations.
Prior Budget Approvals $1,206,000
Prior years' reflects engineering inspections, members and guardrails, partial construction of walk and retaining walls, pier evaluation, and design and some construction for the rehabilitation of steel structure and decks.

Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,


Joe Kuchta
Saskatoon, SK