City of Edmonton says no quality issues with new Walterdale Bridge construction
Charles Rusnell, Jennie Russell | CBC News | Posted: March 30, 2016 7:07 PM | Last Updated: March 30, 2016
Transportation infrastructure manager Barry Belcourt says bridge work rigorously inspected
The City of Edmonton has dismissed allegations from a lawsuit that claims the construction quality and lifespan of the new Walterdale Bridge has been compromised by substandard work and materials.
Barry Belcourt, the city's branch manager of transportation infrastructure, told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday there is absolutely no issue with the quality of the work on the bridge.
"It is one of our most significant, complex bridge projects that the city has ever undertaken," Belcourt said. "So based on that, the protocol that we have put in place for quality control is probably the most rigorous we have ever had."
The legal dispute mainly involves allegations that deficient welds have not been properly repaired.
Belcourt said the city's on-site engineer has ensured all welds have been inspected, and X-rayed, to meet Canadian standards. The city also had inspectors on site in South Korea, where the bridge arches were constructed, to ensure the fabrication work done there met Canadian standards.
"We are very, very confident that the welds that we have out there will not impact the lifespan," he said. "But more importantly, it is not only quality control, the work that is being done is going to be safe.
"At the end of the day, people are going to drive across that bridge, myself included," he said. "It is a signature project and we are not going to build anything that doesn't meet the highest standards that are out there within North America."
Lawsuit alleges substandard welds
Belcourt held the impromptu news conference in response to a CBC News story that revealed a legal dispute between bridge subcontractor Capitol Steel Corporation and the city's main contractor, Acciona/Pacer Joint Venture (APJV).
In a statement of claim, Capitol Steel alleges it repeatedly identified deficient welds on the bridge that did not meet Canadian standards. But it said APJV balked at the cost of properly repairing the welds.
Unable to resolve their differences over how to repair the alleged welding deficiencies and other issues, APJV hired a new contractor to repair the steel fabrication issues and take over the welding from Capitol Steel.
But Capitol Steel claims the repairs conducted by the new subcontractor were substandard and APJV allowed it.
"The continuing work deficiencies will compromise the strength of the structure and will result in premature failures of welds necessitating extensive repairs," Capitol Steel's lawsuit claims.
"After erection of the structure, the cost to repair such weld failures will be significantly more expensive and time-consuming than would be the cost and time required to perform proper weld repairs prior to erection."
APJV countersued Capitol Steel, claiming it breached its subcontract, forcing it to incur additional costs to hire a replacement contractor.
None of the allegations from any of the documents has been proven in court.
City aware of legal dispute
Capitol Steel's lawsuit claims it was barred under its contract with APJV from telling the city about the deficiencies.
"We don't need a third-party subcontractor telling us there is a deficiency," Belcourt said. "Our third-party engineer works for us. The contractor works for us. And we are out there inspecting all those welds."
Belcourt said the city has known about the dispute and the allegations since December 2015. He said such legal disputes on construction projects are fairly common and the city doesn't get involved in them.
The new bridge over the North Saskatchewan River was scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2015. But the lawsuit claims delivery of the steel arches from Korea was delayed by a year.
Belcourt said the bridge will now be completed by the fall of 2016. He said the second arch of the twin-arch bridge is expected to be raised next week. While delayed, the bridge is still expected to be within its $155-million budget.