March 15, 1999

To:Urban Environment and Development Committee

From:Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services

Subject:Contract T-33-98

York Mills Road Bridge over Don River

East of Don Mills Road, Structure Rehabilitation

Contract T-01-97

Humber Bridges - Bridges 2 and 3

Purpose:

To obtain Council authority to increase the contract price of Contract No. T-33-98 for the necessary additional structural rehabilitation work on the York Mills Road Bridge over Don River, and also for Contract T-01-97 for the necessary additional work on the new Gardiner Expressway bridges over the Humber River.

Funding Source:

Funding for T-33-98 has previously been approved by Council and is available in Works and Emergency Services Capital Account C-TR055, Bridge Reconstruction Programme. Funding for Contract T-01-97 has been previously approved by Council and is available in Capital Account C-TR028 Replacement of Gardiner Humber Bridges. The Treasurer has previously certified that financing can be provided under the updated Debt and Financial Obligation limit and that it falls within corporate debt guidelines.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

1. the contract price for Contract No. T-33-98, Structure Rehabilitation on York Mills Road Bridge over Don River, be increased by $59,543.87 to a total of $952,885.25 (GST inclusive) to cover the costs incurred for work done under this Contract including additional repair work.

2.The contract price for Contract T-01-97 be increased by $1,788,558.50 to a total of $37,559,728.50 (GST inclusive) to accommodate additional expenditures.

Background:

At its meeting on May 20, 1998, the Bid Committee approved (Bid Committee Meeting No. 5, Clause 28) the award of Contract No. T-33-98 to Bridgecon Construction Ltd. and Bridgecon Holdings Ltd. at a contract price of $893,341.38 (GST inclusive). In accordance with Metro Council Procedure By-law No. 129-94, the Planning and Transportation Committee at its September 3, 1997 meeting authorized the award of Contract T-01-97 to Peter Kiewit Sons Co. Ltd. in the amount of $35,771,170.00 including GST. Expenditures under these Contracts exceed their limits due to the additional work done.

On Contract T-33-98, the structure was in worse condition than originally anticipated and therefore the repair quantities increased. Also, additional work had to be done to rectify unforeseen site conditions. For example, additional steel repairs were required to the supporting deck girders. These girder repairs could only be identified and repaired cost effectively during the contract while the ballast wall and expansion joint were removed as part of the Contract.

Since the start of Contract T-01-97 in September of 1997, conditions were identified requiring the performance of extra work and additional expenditures by the Contractor, Peter Kiewit Sons Co. Ltd. For example, as approved by Council, to accelerate the construction schedule, a bonus of $10,000.00 per day was offered for each day that the Contractor bettered their schedule. Completion was 25 days early and therefore an additional expenditure of $250,000.00 was incurred. In addition, design changes were initiated by the project team to improve the final product, and these changes had to be done by Peter Kiewit Sons Co. Ltd. for continuity, warranty, liability and safety reasons. Also, unforseen site and foundation conditions arose that required the Contractor to perform extra work to fulfill the intent of the work programme as originally contained in the contract. Contract finalization has not occurred yet as discussions with the Contractor are still ongoing in an attempt to resolve the value of some outstanding extra work items. As such we are recommending that an allowance of 5% of the original contract value, or $1,788,558.50, over and above the original contract value be set for all extra expenditures under this Contract.

At the time that these Contracts were prepared, the Commissioner of the Department had the authority to approve additional expenditures on a commitment up to an amount equal to ten per cent of the contract price in accordance with the former Metro Financial By-law No.146-90, as amended. As such, under the former Metro By-law, a further ten percent of the awarded contract amount or approximately $89,300.00 for Contract T -33-99, and $3,577,117.00 for T-01-97 existed for extra work provided sufficient funds in the Accounts existed to cover the shortfall.

At its meeting on January 6, 1998, City Council enacted By-law No. 7-1998, Interim Financial Control By-law, which repealed the former By-law No. 146-90. As the new By-law contains no provision to exceed the awarded contract amount, the Department has effectively lost its ability to authorize the unforeseen and necessary additional work that may arise during construction of capital projects. This is even more problematic for rehabilitation projects and foundation work. Typically, in this type of work the existing conditions are difficult to determine and as a result the quantity of repairs may increase significantly or the scope of the foundation work may change from what was originally allowed for in the Contract.

Condition surveys on all structures are performed in accordance with the Structure Rehabilitation Manual issued by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and these are used to establish the scope of work to be covered in the contract. Surveys include, core extractions from the deck for testing and exposure of different areas of deck for examination. However, during construction, it is not unusual to discover that the deterioration is more extensive than originally indicated. For foundation work even though borings will be taken during the pre-engineering phase to assist in the foundation design, the soil and rock conditions during construction may vary. Also, only a limited number of borings are taken and therefore the results are not totally representative of the actual conditions. During construction of the foundations, the design assumptions have to be checked and the site conditions verified continuously, and the foundation design enhanced or modified as required.

Conclusion:

The contract price for Contract No. T-33-98 be increased by $59,543.87 to a total of $952,885.25 (GST inclusive) to cover the extra costs for additional work done, and Contract No. T-01-97 be increased by $1,788,558.50 to a total of $37,559,728.50 (GST inclusive) for additional work.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

M. Chung, P. Eng.

Manager of Structures

Metro Hall Office

Telephone: 392-8341

T. G. Denes, P. Eng.

Executive Director

Technical Services

Barry Gutteridge

Commissioner

Works and Emergency Services

DJM/jg