Pine Street Reconstruction
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pine Street Reconstruction – Between Monk and Lisgar Streets
September 8th, 2020 – Chapleau, ON - The Township of Chapleau would like to take the opportunity to provide the community with an update on its efforts to address the condition of the segment of road on Pine Street between Monk and Lisgar Streets (the bottom of the overpass).
The condition of the road in this location has deteriorated at a faster rate than elsewhere due to the high volume of industrial traffic which is compounded by the sharp turning radius at the bottom of the bridge. As a result of our recent experience with the private sector where contributions have been made to municipal infrastructure projects, such as the waterfront revitalization and renovations at the Recreation Centre, Council chose to approach the local industry to ask if they would consider making a financial contribution towards the project. Council was informed that the industry could not contribute at this time. The budgetary estimate for full-depth surface reconstruction of this segment of Pine Street, including limited underground infrastructure, is $155,000.
In response to ongoing public complaints about the condition of the road and the impacts of industrial users, as well as recognizing the need to protect any further investment in the municipal road network, Township staff worked with the municipal solicitor to develop options for next steps. These options were presented to the public in a newspaper article on October 17th, 2019 and ranged from increased enforcement of the Highway Traffic Act to the possible implementation of weight restrictions.
An Open Forum was held on November 4th, 2019 with 37 members of the community in attendance who provided valuable input on this matter. Despite the sentiments expressed by some community members that local industry should contribute to the project, it was made clear to Council that they need to proceed with the necessary work to address the problem. Following the November 4th meeting, Council prioritized this project in the 2020 budget.
The project was put out to tender this spring and a single bid was received which was significantly higher in cost than the engineering estimate. The tender was released a second time and was bundled with other road work to increase the size of the project in the hopes of attracting more bidders and competitive pricing. Three bids were received this time, the lowest of which exceeded our budget by $114,000 (86%). It was the recommendation of the Township’s consulting engineers that the project did not represent good value for money, and the contract was not awarded. The high bids are in part attributed to the cost of mobilizing contractors to Chapleau for a small project.
The reconstruction of Pine Street has been deferred until 2021 in hopes that the work can be completed in tandem with other construction projects which may lead to better pricing. Council has allocated its 2020 Ontario Community Infrastructure Funding (OCIF) formula grant component of roughly $138,000 to this project to off-set the costs to municipal capital reserve funds.
The Public Works department has been maintaining the damaged segments of road with cold patch to the extent possible, recognizing that this is a temporary repair which requires ongoing attention.
The Township would like to thank the community for their patience in this matter.
For more information, please contact the undersigned:
Chelsea Swearengen, Chief Administration Officer (705) 864-1330 | [email protected]