The Third Street Bridge in Chatham could be getting $14-million worth of upgrades.
Up for council approval on Monday is awarding a $14,006,474 contract for rehabilitation work on the bridge to Toronto Zenith Contracting Limited of Concord.
The bridge, which was built in 1961 and runs over the Thames River, has seen several repairs over the last few decades.
According to the staff report coming to council, on August 2, 2018, an inspection of the structure noted various areas where the structural steel had deteriorated. Due to public safety concerns, the bridge was closed the following day and work began shortly after to complete the structural steel repairs required for a short-term fix.
The bridge reopened in October 2018, with a single load posting of 10 tonnes. After completing some additional inspections, it was eventually increased to its current triple load posting of 10 / 18 / 25 tonnes.
In June 2020, a consulting service completed a detailed inspection of the bridge.
"This structure was identified to have a number of conditional issues that needed to be addressed in order to maintain public safety and extend the life of this structure," the reported stated. "These included deteriorated steel girders supporting the concrete deck, deteriorated concrete deck, concrete abutments, and concrete piers, deteriorated and non-code compliant barriers [as well as] deteriorated and non-functioning mechanical and electrical equipment that previously allowed this bridge to be opened to allow the passage of large marine traffic."
The contract up for approval includes several major areas of work including:
- Removal of the operator's house
- Removal of the bridge superstructure, including all existing structural steel members, steel railings, steel decking, concrete deck, and concrete sidewalks
- Partial reconstruction of the roadway on either side of the bridge and replacement of the steel barriers and concrete sidewalks on both sides of the bridge
- Repairs to the existing concrete abutments, concrete piers and concrete wing-walls
- Installation of steel sheet pile seawall below the bridge along the south side of the Thames River
The project will also include installing new concrete decorative light standards on the bridge and on both sides of the bridge as well as putting in new lighting below the bridge so that the sidewalks can be used safely below and installing LED accent lights under the top railing of the bridge.
"Chatham-Kent Community Attraction and Promotion Department, Chatham-Kent Arts and Culture Department, and the Historic Downtown Chatham BIA were consulted on the addition of the LED lighting," the report read. "All groups strongly support this feature both for the safety benefits as well as for the future promotional opportunities that will serve to attract more residents to the downtown core."
With an HST rebate factored in, the work will cost the municipality $12.6-million. The total project costs would be funded from the Bridge Lifecycle Reserve, which includes funds under the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Federal Transfers of Federal Gas Tax Funding Agreement.
According to staff, the price is higher than was initially estimated due to the impacts of the pandemic.
"The recommended tender is higher than the engineer’s estimate due to increases in steel prices and other commodities that has occurred in the past 12 months," read the report. "Compliance with current pandemic health and safety protocols has raised all of the bid prices."
The terms of the tendered contract state that work on the bridge can start after council approves the awarding of the contract.
The project has an interim completion date of November 19, 2021 and a final completion date of June 1, 2022. The bridge will be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic for the duration of the project and a detour will be in place.
According to the report, the rehabilitation project, along with routine maintenance is expected to provide another 50 years of service life to the bridge.