NR: Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge Project Update
Ottawa – Today the City of Ottawa declared the general contractor on the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge to be in default.
This decision follows discussions with the contactor’s court appointed receiver and the City’s bonding company and is being pursued as the best course of action to ensure the project continues to move forward and is completed as quickly as possible.
Work on the bridge is approximately 60% complete and measures remain in place to ensure its completion.
It is important to recognize that situations such as this create schedule setbacks and will impact construction. However, the action taken by the City today is geared to limit any project delays and will allow the bonding company to assume responsibility for the delivery of the project regardless of what happens with the contractor as a result of it being placed into receivership.
The City requires performance bonds on all major construction projects to guarantee project completion and minimize financial exposure to taxpayers. Declaring the general contractor to be in default and activating the $23 million performance bond will assist the City in its ability to ensure the timely completion of the project as well as the quality and safety of the bridge.
Am I the only one who is getting nervous when I read that many of the subcontractors have not been paid for work done to date and they will not resume work until they are paid? Will the performance bond be enough to complete the bridge? Where did all the money go to build this bridge if the subcontractors have not been paid? To pay for debts for a company that was already in financial trouble? Is there a mechanism to make sure that bidders are financially capable to complete the project before their bid is accepted?
With all of the temporary piers built and piles driven into the riverbed, and all of the temporary heavy steel rail construction to support the moving bridge structure, would it not have been faster, easier, and cheaper to simply build the bridge in place rather than building it on shore and then ‘sliding’ it into place? There appears to be a huge amount of ‘throw-away’ work being done here.
My guess is that it has something to do with not affecting canal navigation as much as possible, similar to the reasons the Carling area bridge replacement scheme on the Queensway disrupted traffic only for a weekend.
I've been along Earl Armstrong westbound at Prince of Wales a few times. The lanes of the intersection (just done in the last couple of years) don't line up with the bridge at all. Awkward Suburban blight.
I've been along Earl Armstrong westbound at Prince of Wales a few times. The lanes of the intersection (just done in the last couple of years) don't line up with the bridge at all. Awkward Suburban blight.
The bridge is not in its final location. It's being built on shore and will be rolled out over the river on a temporary trellis system. Once that's done the approach roads will be finished.
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