Archeology blamed for high project cost
Sandwich Street roundabout budget overshot because artifacts were found
It cost more for the archeology than the actual construction of the new Sandwich Street roundabout, according to a city report that explains how the project ended up costing double what was budgeted. “We’re not happy about it, but we were required to comply with legislation and there were some lessons learned,” city engineer Mark Winterton said of the project, which started on June 19, 2017, with a Sept. 1, 2017, completion date.
Though opened to traffic one year ago, the impressive Brock/ Tecumseh sculpture was only installed in the middle of the roundabout this September and all the construction work won’t be finished until some time in the new year. The delays and cost overrun are due to the required archeological work and consultations with First Nations, the report says. In fact, construction costs for the project are projected at $964,905, less than the $1.15-million budget (which doesn’t include the sculpture). What ended up bringing the project into a $1.18-million deficit were unbudgeted archeological costs totalling $1.37 million. It was the first time in Windsor’s history a construction project has been required to perform such an extensive archeological study, according to the report.
“The additional costs of the project were directly associated to archeology work and its associated construction delays from the archeologist, the monitoring by four First Nations, and the need to construct temporary measures (like fencing) for the roundabout until the site was returned to the city,” the report says. It notes that the project was on budget and on schedule to meet its Sept. 1, 2017 deadline until July 20, when the first artifacts were found. First, the project was approved fairly quickly without the advanced planning and consultations that usually happen, said Winterton.
Second, it’s located in an area — historic Sandwich Town — that’s identified as an area of archeological significance, meaning there was a good chance there were First Nations artifacts in the earth. And finally, there was an increased awareness that archeological studies and consultations with First Nations have to happen in situations like this. “I don’t think any of us anticipated this, but it is legislated and it is required,” Winterton said. Thousands of artifacts, some dating back more than 10,000 years, were found by archeologists during the dig. Items found include arrowheads, shards of brass, pottery, buttons and bone fragments. Though their ownership “remains unresolved,” it’s expected they’ll end up at the city’s Chimczuk Museum and hopefully be displayed after they’re cleaned and catalogued.
Because the area was identified as having “high archeological potential” in the city’s Official Plan, an initial Stage 1 archeological study was required before construction could begin.
That study recommended the city move to a Stage 2 study, which required testing the earth with hand shovels and monitoring by archeologists once the ground was exposed for excavation. On July 21, artifacts were discovered, triggering a Stage 3 study, which requires First Nations be notified and invited to monitor the dig.
The archeological work continued until Nov. 10, then resumed in May 2018. It wasn’t completed until the end of September. Any time a capital project goes 10 per cent over budget with a deficit greater than $500,000, administration has to provide a report to council explaining how it happened.
This report concludes that lessons were learned about the impact archeological work has on construction project budgets and schedules, and administration is now “better equipped” to deal with similar projects in the future. “However, costs will remain difficult to estimate up front, given the many variables at play in these types to projects.”