Meaford Council is awarding a $111,000 tender for engineering services for rehabilitation work on the bridge along Sykes Street North.
During a council meeting on June 27, a report recommending awarding the tender was brought forward by CAO Rob Armstrong.
The report included awarding the work to Tatham Engineering Services, as well as transferring $5,580 from the Bridges and Culverts Reserves as well as the 2023 expenditure of $55,607 to fund the costs associated with the rehabilitation work.
The project includes the rehabilitation of deteriorated concrete in the soffit and on the curb, as well as the pipe outlet extension, barrier replacement, and the rehabilitation of the gabion baskets and slope stabilization.
The report says in November 2021, the municipality approved the submission of the 2022/23 Ministry of Transportation Connecting Links Program Application for the rehabilitation project on Sykes Street North. Earlier this year in April, Meaford received notification the project was selected for funding.
The work on the bridge located near the intersection of Cook Street was identified in the 2021 Ontario Structure Inspection Manual (OSIM) as needing $598,000 in rehabilitation work in the next three to five years.
The report says the project will be completed in two phases between 2022 and 2023 with the design and agency approvals to be completed this year, and the tender, preparation, rehabilitation, and contract administration to be finished next year.
The report says while the work is occurring, it is expected at least one lane of traffic could be maintained throughout the project.
The 2022 capital budget did not include the engineering or construction for the project, but the report says the municipality applied for 90 per cent of the funding for this project to be covered through the Connecting Links grant program.
The municipality is needed to fund 10 per cent of the project, and the 2022 portion of $5,580 will be coming from the Bridges and Culverts Reserve.
Both Coun. Paul Vickers and Coun. Steven Bartley voiced their concern over the costs associated with bringing on engineering services for the rehabilitation project.
“We are spending about $111,000 on engineering on a $600,000 project, does it seem a bit out of line in the amount of engineering it is taking to do a project of $600,000,” says Vickers.
Director of Infrastructure Services Jessica Wiley in response says she does not believe the costs to be out of order, as they are basing these prices on professional recommendations.
“We are basing the professional services off of the OSIM recommendations. So when they do the OSIM reports, they at the time generate what they think is an appropriate amount for provisional services based on the work,” says Wiley.
