Town turns to new approach for old bridge replacement

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

A request to dish out $1 million for the replacement of the George Freeman Trail bridge left Strathmore town council and staff sticker shocked and unable to justify the lowest bid, turning instead to a new approach in search of greater innovation and a price tag that’s keeping within the $800,000 budget.
Two years ago, the town established a capital project for the replacement of the bridge, which crosses the Western Irrigation District (WID) canal, to rebuild the structure with two vehicle lanes and a pedestrian walking path. While the project was scheduled to begin construction this year, the budget overage of $397,000 – equivalent to a 50 per cent increase of the 2017 approved budget and resulting in a total cost of $1.197 million – had town staff recommending to adopt a different tendering strategy; a design-build approach.
“It is believed by staff that this approach will spur a more innovative and cost-effective bridge design than the previous process,” said Mark Ruault, director of infrastructure and development services for the Town of Strathmore.
“It is also expected to lead to submissions that are more in line with the budget. The idea here is that when we go to the market, there’ll be a lower price. It’s just our belief that with the new process we’re trying to do here, there’ll be some innovation that we’ll have some cost savings.”
Instead of tendering engineering and construction services separately, the infrastructure and development services group recommended the capital project be redesigned and retendered, by utilizing the design-build strategy – in which the design and construction services are contracted by a single entity – and publicizing the project budget to ensure serious contenders meet the quota.
In addition, the tender must meet specific requirements, such as a two-lane bridge with separate pedestrian walkways, the WID requirements and Strathmore’s standards. In turn the design is left up to the contractor.
“Staff believes that there are cost saving opportunities by changing the bridge’s cross-section and lane arrangement,” Ruault said. “Also after reviewing, staff believes the project needs to be redesigned to better reflect the current needs.”
Approximately $60,000 has already been spent on the project thus far. However, Ruault assured council the expenditure will be reabsorbed as part of the informational package included in the design-build project.
After an assessment was conducted in November, it was concluded the state of the structure didn’t pose an immediate safety threat, yet $25,000 of repairs would be necessary if the bridge is left unchanged over the next year.
Councillor Lorraine Bauer was concerned with additional costs due to market fluctuations of carrying the project’s tendering process into 2018.
Councillor Jason Montgomery also asked for an explanation of what caused the 50 per cent discrepancy in price, while Councillor Bob Sobol inquired about the bridge’s current state and already invested funds.
Council was told the project was originally tendered in 2009, at the time of the downturn in Alberta’s economy, with a budget of $800,000 – a figure that was carried forward during this year’s annual budget.
According to Ruault, the high bids were also a result of design details in the project that included a concrete headwall, a fancy rail and extended life of the culvert.
Council unanimously passed a motion to accept the report presented by the infrastructure and development services group as information during the regular council meeting on Dec. 6.
With an original expected completion date of late 2018, staff members are aiming for the project to be completed as soon as possible.