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Council receives report on municipal structures inspection

November 8, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Town of New Tecumseth Council received a report on municipal structures inventory and inspection that was completed on Oct. 21, prepared by GHD Limited.

It has been recommended that the information be incorporated into the Asset Management Plan and updated within the Long Range Financial Plan as part of future year budget considerations.

The report updates the condition assessment and priority ratings of all road structures over a three-metre span maintained by the Town of New Tecumseth.

Key findings in the report include an adjusted for owners share summary of the total structure construction and rehabilitation needs for a 10-year period is estimated to be $37,719,100.

The estimated minimum annual capital program for structures should be approximately $3,066,000 per year for the Town to maintain the current system adequately.

Over a five-year period from 2029 to 2033, the Town has allocated approximately $6,958,000 towards related capital bridge improvement projects.

The Municipal Structure Inventory and Inspections Report Update is completed every two years in accordance with the legislative requirements of the Public Transportation and Highway Act.

Based on funding and priority listing as noted in the 2024 MSII Report, the Town’s practice is to address the high-priority structural deficiencies in a three-staged multi-year program. The first stage is to undertake engineering bridge investigations such as deck condition surveys and load capacity analysis. The second stage involves retaining a consultant to undertake the design and any applicable environmental assessment, as required. The final stage undertakes the recommended construction improvements. By implementing the three-stage strategy it is anticipated that over time the overall system adequacy and average bridge condition index will improve.

The appraisal of the structures involved the following tasks:

• A visual re-inspection for deficiencies and the recording of any relevant dimensions.
• An updated photographic inventory of the structure’s appearance and deficiencies.
• Compilation of the field review and structure appraisals using Worktech Asset Foundation Software.  
• An individual assessment of the condition and state of repair/non-repair of each structure, as well as the recommendation of improvements and estimated costs to bring the existing structure to an acceptable level of service.  
• Recommendation of the feasible options and cost-effectiveness of maintaining the existing structure versus possible replacement and the costs and timing of the same.
• Development of a bridge and culvert improvement priority program to determine various conditions and appraisal ratings for each structure.

The program includes an algorithm to determine an overall condition rating, functional needs rating and overall rating for each structure as outlined in Appendix E. Relative rankings of bridge and culvert needs have also been included.

Bridge condition index (BCI) values have been calculated for each structure. The Asset Management Program will utilize BCI values to further assist in scheduling works as part of the Long-Range Financial Plan.

The structure priority number (SPN) is a value calculated using inventory and inspection data to assist in guiding the prioritization of investment in structure rehabilitation and replacement programs.

The Town will need to identify specific budget recommendations for detailed condition surveys and bridge rehabilitation/replacement including associated engineering design and supervision and construction estimates.

The report recommends several issues that need to be addressed. This includes Bridge #12001 on the 14th Line, which has been identified for future widening to four lanes.

The design for the replacement and widening of the Cunningham Bridge #11001 is substantially complete as part of the Church Street North Road and Bridge Improvements project.

The Town’s overall bridge improvement program continues to address high-priority structural deficiencies in order to maintain the overall system adequacy.

Completion of the 89 bridge and culvert structure inspections has resulted in reliable and current data being available to the Town to implement a maintenance program ensuring the Town’s structures are kept safe and in good repair.

Maintenance of the Bridge and Culvert Management Program will require updating databases on an ongoing biennial basis to reflect the previous year’s rehabilitation/replacement project updates. 

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