County approves $400K in repairs to Gifford, Gannons causeways
Peterborough County is proceeding with an estimated $400,000 in emergency repairs to repair extensive damage to the James A. Gifford and Gannons Narrows causeways caused by a devastating wind storm earlier this month.
Prevailing winds of more than 100 km/h during the May 4 storm created waves that reportedly overtopped the roadways, causing significant damage to the embankments of the spans – which remain open to vehicular traffic.
County councillors voted unanimously Wednesday, without debate, to use money from the public works engineered structures reserve to hire Drain Bros, BT Engineering and Cambium Inc. without putting out a request for proposals.
Staff recommended singlesourcing the work so repairs to washouts can be expedited to maintain the integrity of the road structures, said engineering and design manager Peter Nielsen, who outlined the damage in a report after engineers completed assessments.
Coun. Terry Low said he saw the waves first hand that night rolling over the span between Ennismore and Bridgenorth and it was quite a sight.
Damage was restricted to the south side of the road between the middle cross culvert and the Chemong Bridge. Damage to the Gannons Narrows Causeway was restricted to the west side of the road between the bridge and Chases culvert.
Repairs at both locations will include excavation of debris, benching of the repair area, installation of geotextile fabric and armour stone rock and re-installation of steel beam guiderails.
The existing guiderails will stay in place on the Gifford causeway and pre-cast concrete ( jer-
sey) barriers will be installed on the inside face of the guiderail.
The pre-cast barriers are to be installed as part of the widening project and they will be salvaged for that effort, Nielsen wrote.
Staff will work with local approval authorities to coordinate the exact timing of the work as not to disturb fish spawning habitat, officials stated in a press release. Exact timelines will be released as soon as they are available.
The county has filed a claim with its insurance company and is awaiting a response, but staff are doubtful the damage will be covered, director of corporate projects and services Sheridan Graham said.
Contract awarded, limit change for bridge
Councillors also approved awarding a $47,940 contract to Jewell Engineering to rehabilitate the Gannon’s Narrows Causeway on Wednesday.
The work will include completing an environmental assessment, preparing design drawings, specifications, tender forms and getting the needed approvals for the work.
The county did not solicit other bids for the work.
Single-sourcing the contract will expedite the process by four or five months, Nielsen told councillors.
Load restrictions imposed on the Gannons Narrows Bridge late last year after an underwater inspection found its steel was deteriorating slightly from corrosion caused by zebra mussels were also lessened by county council.
Respective L1, L2 and L3 restrictions of 38, 30 and 20 tonnes were increased to 50, 42 and 25 tonnes after further, enhanced inspection of the structure earlier this year revealed that the damage isn’t as bad as initially believed.
The preliminary estimate to rehabilitate deteriorated parts of the bridge is $1 million, plus HST, Nielsen wrote in a report.
The work will include removing all zebra mussels and building a pier around piles to provide lateral support, replacing damaged steel overhead braces, replacing or cleaning, lubricating and recoating truss bearings, repainting steel and repairing concrete.