Some outdoor enthusiasts in P.A. might have that sinking feeling when learning city council has changed course regarding the much-needed replacement of eight pedestrian bridges around the city. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

a bridge too far

P.A. council changes course on bridge design plans

May 22, 2019 | 4:00 PM

Prince Albert’s outdoor enthusiasts will have to wait longer for a decision on how and when Prince Albert’s eight pedestrian bridges will be replaced.

The four bridges in Little Red River Park and the four in the storm channel in Carlton Park are either demolished or in an advanced state of deterioration and their replacement has been prioritized in the budget. However, city council decided Tuesday to reject the idea of spending $234,000 in the coming four years for design, engineering and inspection work on all eight structures. Instead, council voted to tackle the design of just two bridges. The long-term plan is to build two structures each year over four years.

Do we really need to spend that sort of money? _{– Councillor Dennis Ogrodnick}

Among the reasons given for rejecting an initial quote from a specialist Saskatoon engineering company was the lack of weight given to local contractors in the bidding process. Also, there were concerns about spending big money on designs that might not be followed through by future councils. The construction of all the bridges would cost around $2 million, averaging $250,000 each.

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“Why pay for design work for a project that may never happen?” Ward 4 Coun.Don Cody said.

“Do we really need to spend that sort of money?” Ward 5 Coun.Dennis Ogrodnick added during deliberations. “Yes, two of the bridges at Little Red are a priority, but not all the others.”

However, Ward 2 Coun.Terra Lennox-Zepp reminded her fellow councillors they had approved the dollar amount for design work in their budget decisions.

“We should be planning for the future in terms of cost savings for design, if these are the bridges we want to build and we’ve told administration they are,” she said.

Director of Public Works Wes Hicks told council the reason why one contract for the design, engineering and geotechnical work for all eight bridges had been sought was because there would be savings from that economy of scale. He said it was likely things would get more expensive overall with the city deciding to handle matters in smaller design increments.

None of the bridges are in good shape _{– Wes Hicks}

With the decision by council to cancel the first bid, a new tender process will now have to be prepared for the design work on just two structures. Hicks’ department had already listed the bridges in order of priority with the Sliding Hill Bridge (which has been missing for a few years) and the Swinging Bridge at Little Red the top two on that list.

“Two of the eight bridges are already demolished: one due to a flood in 2013 and one due to structural failure last winter,” he told paNOW. “None of the other six are in good shape.”

Hicks could not say if the first two structures on the list would get replaced before the winter and added council may not even be able to approve the new request for tenders until mid to late summer.

“Once we get the proposals back from engineering firms, they’ll then have to go into design and then the actual construction needs to go out to tender,” he said.

The bridges would be built off-site then erected and secured on specially-built concrete pads, according to Hicks.

—

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow