To:
County Council
Agenda Section:
Division:
Department:
County Officer
Engineering, Planning and Environment
Transportation and Engineering
Item Number:
CO 17-007
Meeting Date:
June 13, 2017
Subject:
Emergency Replacement of Simcoe Road Bridge
Recommendation
That Item CO 17-007, dated June 13, 2017, regarding the Emergency Replacement of
Simcoe Road Bridge, be received; and
That the request outlined within Item CO 17-007, to temporarily close Simcoe Road at the
bridge, within the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, for the period of July 1, 2017 until
construction is substantially performed; anticipated to be December 1, 2017, for the
purposes of bridge replacement, be approved; and
That approval be granted to increase the project budget for the replacement of Simcoe
Road Bridge, Project 30000499 to $3.0 Million.
Executive Summary
This Item is being presented as a County Officer report due to the emergency nature of the bridge
replacement and the tight timelines associated with the required canal closure.
Construction for the replacement of Simcoe Road Bridge will commence on or before June 19,
2017. It is recommended that Simcoe Road be temporarily closed to through traffic at the Bridge,
for the period of July 1, 2017 until construction is substantially performed; anticipated to be by
December 1, 2017, to facilitate the replacement of the Bridge.
The approved project budget for the replacement of Simcoe Road Bridge, is $2.4M. Based on the
recent tender close, the total project cost is estimated to be revised to $3.0M. Therefore, staff is
seeking approval to increase the total project budget by $565K.
June 13, 2017
County Officer - CO 17-007
Page 2
Background/Analysis/Options
Project 30000499 – Simcoe Road Bridge, Structure 041000, is located on Simcoe Road, 0.01 km
north of Canal Road, over the North Holland Canal, in the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury
(BWG). The Bridge was built in 1950 with no known history of rehabilitation. The existing bridge
consists of a three span, reinforced concrete deck on steel girder structure supported by timber
crib abutments and timber piers.
This project has been classified as an Emergency Replacement due to the state of the bridge and
the tight timelines associated with the required Canal closure. Simcoe Road Bridge is in very poor
condition and the rate of deterioration has accelerated following the heavy traffic on this bridge
during the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury reconstruction of Simcoe Road this past year.
Simcoe Road was closed at Line 6 BWG, forcing local traffic and heavy construction equipment /
materials to gain access from Canal Road and travel over the Bridge. There is on-going
settlement and reoccurring sink holes on the approaches of the Bridge. Based on the condition of
Simcoe Road Bridge, the expectation is that the Bridge will need to be closed to traffic by early
summer 2017 at the latest due to safety concerns.
In addition, the commencement for the Bridge construction cannot be delayed as it will impact the
ability for completion of the work this year and will also affect the King Township Graham Sideroad
Bridge Replacement over the South Canal and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) Highway 400
Bridge Replacement over the South Canal projects. All three projects require damming / closure of
the Canal and in order to permit flow of water out to the Holland River / Lake Simcoe, the Holland
Marsh drainage canal system can only be dammed / closed at one location at a time.
King Township have awarded their Graham Sideroad Bridge Replacement contract with a
construction schedule to commence in late November 2017.
The MTO also intends to dam the Canal starting in January 2018 to permit the completion of the
canal realignment works at the Highway 400 South Canal Bridge structure.
The consequence of Simcoe Road Bridge not being replaced, is that Simcoe Road will need to be
closed to the public this year and would remain closed until the Bridge is replaced (a duration of
approximately two years). A road closure for that length of duration is not acceptable.
The construction budget had been broken over two construction seasons (2017 and 2018) for an
anticipated winter / spring construction (November to April). Given the aforementioned concerns,
the construction start date has been advanced to commence on or before June 19, 2017 and is to
be substantially performed by December 1, 2017. This construction schedule will permit the
reopening of the Canal by mid - late November 2017.
The County of Simcoe released the construction tender for the replacement of Simcoe Road
Bridge. The tender closed on Tuesday May 23, 2017 with three tender bid submissions received.
All three bid submission prices are higher than the approved construction budget.
The contract includes the removal and replacement of the existing three span, reinforced concrete
deck on steel girder structure supported by timber crib abutments. The replacement structure will
be on the same horizontal alignment as the existing bridge. As part of the construction works, the
North Holland Canal will be relocated to tie into the relocation works that were previously
completed by the Holland Marsh Drainage Commission. The replacement structure will be shifted
approximately 8.0 meters to the north to align with the new Holland Canal. The new integral
Form issued: April 2016
June 13, 2017
County Officer - CO 17-007
Page 3
abutment bridge will consist of two-12.50 meter spans, concrete deck on precast concrete hollow
slab girders structure and a structure width of 12.35 metres. The cross section of the new bridge
will accommodate 2 x 3.50 metre wide travel lanes, 1 x 1.50 metre wide side clearance, and 1 x
1.05 meter wide side clearance with a 2.00 meter wide sidewalk along the west side. During
construction, the existing Bridge will be closed to the public with traffic detoured to an alternate
route.
The total project cost increases are driven by three factors; tight timelines on the project, additional
engineering design and a higher level of Contract Administration / Inspection, and the addition of a
sidewalk on the bridge deck. The construction schedule for the contract is very aggressive and
higher than usual penalties have been applied to the contract if the project runs late. In order to
ensure that the project timelines are met, a higher level of Contract Administration and Inspection
is required. In addition, the Town of BWG request for the addition of a sidewalk on the bridge
resulted in additional cost for engineering design as well as in increase in the construction cost of
the bridge. There was also additional engineering time spent on the coordination of adjacent
contracts with the Town of BWG for the Simcoe Road reconstruction and the King Township
Graham Sideroad Bridge replacement. The approved project budget for Project 30000499 is
$2,443K. Based on the recent tender close, the total project cost is estimated to be revised to
$3,008K. Therefore, staff is seeking approval to increase the total project budget by $565K.
During the engineering and design phase of the Bridge replacement, all options were reviewed in
an attempt to have Simcoe Road remain open during construction. A temporary bridge or staged
construction is not feasible due to the existing road platform width at the bridge, existing girder
configuration, topography and general site conditions of the area.
Prior to the scheduled road closure, a copy of the Notice of Construction will be delivered to the
adjacent residential and commercial properties as well as Simcoe County Student Transportation
Consortium, fire and emergency services.
A signed detour route will be established using Line 5 BWG, 10 Sideroad and Line 6 BWG, a
distance of approximately 23 kilometers. (See map attached as schedule 1) Access to local
businesses and residents will be maintained during construction. The detour route was
established in coordination with staff from the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury.
Financial and Resource Implications
Total current estimate for the project including contingency is $3.0M which is over the project
budget of $2.4M by $565K. Funding for the increased costs will be determined at 2017 yearend
from either Transportation and Engineering surpluses or the Roads Reserve.
The cost of the road closure signage is accounted for within the 2017 / 2018 capital budget.
Relationship to Corporate Strategic Plan
Replacement of Simcoe Road Bridge, Str. # 041000, supports Strategic Direction E: A Culture of
Workplace and Operational Excellence that promotes efficiencies and effectiveness in fiscal
management and service delivery.
Form issued: April 2016
County Officer - CO 17-007
June 13, 2017
Page 4
Reference Documents
There are no reference documents associated with this Item.
Attachments
Schedule 1 – Map of Location
Schedule 1 for CO
17-007.pdf
Prepared By
Julie Scruton, P. Eng., Manager, Transportation Construction
Approvals
Christian Meile, Director, Transportation and Engineering
Debbie Korolnek, General Manager, Engineering,
Planning and Environment
Trevor Wilcox, General Manager, Corporate Performance
Mark Aitken, Chief Administrative Officer
Date
June 1, 2017
June 1, 2017
June 2, 2017
June 5, 2017
Form issued: April 2016