|
|
|
Mayor expects bridge to be completed before term is up |
|
|
Written by MARK NIELSEN
Citizen staff
|
|
Monday, 12 May 2008 |
A few more steps still need to be taken before work at the site actually begins, but motorists should be able to cross the new Cameron Street Bridge before the next civic election, Mayor Colin Kinsley said Monday.
"What I've been told and what I've asked for is that we'll be driving across that bridge before my term is up," he said. "And that's my commitment."
Kinsley announced last week he will step down as mayor in November when the next election is held, after four terms in the position, and twinning the Cameron Street Bridge has been high on his agenda for several years.
A contract to build the bridge was formally awarded to Prince George-based IDL Projects Inc. on Friday after confirmation of $2 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments was confirmed.
With the contract in hand, Kinsley said IDL has begun the rest of the behind-the-scenes steps that need to be taken before ground is broken. They include getting the steel and materials on site, submitting a site safety plan to WorkSafe B.C. and applying for a materials bond and a performance bond.
"Construction is a whole bunch of things, it's not just an excavator out on the job site," he said in reference to his statement last week that work on the bridge will begin Monday.
Kinsley hopes to get a more accurate idea of when the first shovel hits the ground later this week.
"They did tell me it will be a couple of months before the actual existing physical structure comes down," he said. "They need to build something first and whatever it is is being prefabricated."
Work on the new Cameron Street Bridge should start Monday, Mayor Colin Kinsley said, after paperwork on $2 million in funding from the federal government was signed off.
The work involves putting a new, two-lane superstructure over the existing piers as well as installing a roundabout on the north end, while a lighted intersection will remain at the south end because of land constraints and difficult gradients.
IDL will be paid $9.1 million and in all, $9.9 million has been budgeted, once design and contingency costs are included.
In addition to the $2 million from the federal and provincial governments, the city will borrow $6 million while the remaining costs will be covered through various reserve funds.
The new crossing is expected to handle 14,000 vehicles per day once it's open, compared to 8,000 when the bridge was closed in September 2005 because of safety concerns and rising maintenance costs.
 |
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 12 May 2008 )
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
I would like to see this done in my life time.....