Lane closure on Fifth Street Bridge.  (Photo by Allanah Wills)Lane closure on Fifth Street Bridge. (Photo by Allanah Wills)
Chatham

Council to discuss cost of delays on Fifth Street Bridge project

Massive cost overruns and delays with repairs to the Fifth Street Bridge in downtown Chatham will fill the air at Chatham-Kent council on Monday night.

A report going before councillors reveals the project to repair the bridge, which began in the summer of 2017, was delayed by a year and was $1.23 million over budget because of unforeseen issues that were not part of the original contract.

"The majority of these issues could not have been determined until the structure [bridge deck] was removed," said Chris Thibert, director of engineering with the municipality. "With bridge rehabilitation projects there are assumptions made regarding quality and structural integrity of the components identified to be salvaged. Once demolition was completed, it uncovered these items that needed to be addressed."

Bell was also behind schedule installing new optic fibre and cables at the site.

"The bridge contractor had to wait for Bell’s splicing work to be completed before they could finish the bridge project," the report stated.

Bell finished the work at the end of November and the contractor had to shut down work for the winter.

Legal action may follow as a result of the delays.

"Legal services will provide legal advice to council in closed session regarding delays caused by Bell’s work on the bridge," wrote the report's author, engineer Jason Cikatricis.

The contractor was also fined $124,000 for not completing the project on time. The price tag for the bridgework has now ballooned to $7.7 million, with the cost overrun being funded from the Bridge Lifecycle Reserve.

The bridge rehabilitation started in July 2017 and was completed in November 2019. The old Fifth Street Bridge was replaced, and the concrete abutments and piers were repaired. New structural steel, new asphalt on the concrete decking, new concrete sidewalks, and new steel tube railings were also installed.

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