Dixon Road over Highway 27

Bridge Reconstruction and Associated Roadworks

Contract No. T-28-99, Tender No. 3-1999

(Rexdale-Thistletown - Ward 5)

The Urban Environment and Development Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (March 29, 1999) from the Manager, Fair Wage and Labour Trades Office:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to advise the Committee on whether or not the recommended contractor meets the requirements and conditions under the City's Fair Wage Policy.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)Contract No. T-28-99, for the bridge reconstruction and associated roadworks on Dixon Road over Highway 27 not be awarded to Graham Bros. Construction Limited, Fairglen Excavating Limited, 795208 Ontario Limited, Graham Bros. Aggregates Limited and Graham Realty Inc.;

(2)no further penalties be imposed on Graham Bros. Construction Limited, Fairglen Excavating Limited, 795208 Ontario Limited, Graham Bros. Aggregates Limited and Graham Realty Inc. for not complying with the conditions under the City's Fair Wage Policy;

(3)Graham Bros. Construction Limited, Fairglen Excavating Limited, 795208 Ontario Limited, Graham Bros. Aggregates Limited and Graham Realty Inc. be eligible to bid on any future work issued by the City of Toronto; and

(4)subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Contract No. T-28-99 be awarded to the next lowest bidder who meets the conditions under the Fair Wage Policy, Grascan Construction Ltd./Torbridge Construction Ltd., in the amount of $4,972,290.00.

Background:

All goods and services purchased by the City of Toronto is subject to Fair Wage Policy approval. The Fair Wage Policy document is included in the general conditions in all tenders, quotations, etc.

When construction services are involved, the following basic procedures are taken by our office:

a.The contractor is notified by us and the conditions under the Fair Wage Policy are discussed with them.

b.The contractor then sends our office a letter outlining their agreement to comply with the conditions under the Fair Wage Policy.

c.Throughout the duration of the contract, our office may visit the construction site to speak to their workers, or pay a visit to their head office to conduct a payroll audit for the contract they are performing.

If a contractor is found to be in contravention of the Fair Wage Policy, and the violation deals with workers' wages, the contractor must compensate their workers for monies owing. The contractor is then given a warning that if they are found to be in violation a second time, they may be removed from the bidders' list for a period of one year.

Comments:

The Bid Committee at its meeting held on February 17, 1999 opened tenders for Contract No. T-28-99, for the bridge reconstruction and associated roadworks on Dixon Road over Highway 27. The three lowest bidders were referred to the Fair Wage & Labour Trades Office for review and approval. The low recommended bidder for Contract No. T-28-99 was Graham Bros. Construction Limited.

My office was not able to determine whether or not Graham Bros. Construction Limited satisfied the requirements of the Fair Wage Policy prior to the report deadline to the Urban Environment and Development Committee meeting of March 31, 1999. Consequently, the report to your committee submitted by the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer made the awarding of this contract subject to a favourable report from the Manager, Fair Wage and Labour Trades Office.

During this time, our office received numerous calls alleging that Graham Bros. Construction Limited does not comply with the Fair Wage Policy.

In reviewing our files, we noted that Graham Bros. Construction Limited, were awarded only four (4) contracts under the Fair Wage Policy. These contracts were as follows: T-67-95 and T-42-96 for the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, and Contract Nos. 96-4 and 96-5 for the former City of Etobicoke.

We contacted Graham Bros. Construction Limited and they provided the necessary documentation to review their payroll for the above contracts. It was ascertained that Graham Bros. Construction Limited did not pay their workers, engaged on the above contracts, the required wage packages under the Fair Wage Policy. The shortfall was an average of 8% per worker.

On March 24, 1999, our office met with officials from Graham Bros. Construction Limited. After a lengthy discussion, I am of the opinion that Graham Bros. Construction Limited will now take the necessary steps to comply with the Fair Wage Policy on any future tendered projects.

Conclusion:

Graham Bros. Construction Limited were found to be in violation of the City's Fair Wage Policy on all four projects performed in the former local municipalities. It is my opinion that if this matter was not brought to the attention of our office, Graham Bros. Construction Limited would be in violation of this contract (T-28-99) as well.

However, in view of the limited number of projects performed recently by Graham Bros. Construction Limited, as well as their willingness and commitment to now comply with the conditions under the Fair Wage Policy, they not be imposed any further penalties, but be allowed to bid for any future City work.

The Urban Environment and Development Committee also submits the following report (March 8, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to advise the results of the Tender issued for the bridge reconstruction and associated roadworks on Dixon Road over Highway 27 in accordance with specifications prepared by the Works and Emergency Services Department and to request authority to issue a contract to the recommended bidder, and to reduce the speed limit on Highway 27 in this area during construction.

Source of Funds:

Funding for this project has been approved by Council and is available in Works and Emergency Services Capital Account TRO55, Bridge Rehabilitation.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)Contract No. T-28-99, for the bridge reconstruction and associated roadworks on Dixon Road over Highway 27 be awarded to Graham Bros. Construction Limited, Fairglen Excavating Limited, 795208 Ontario Limited, Graham Bros. Aggregates Limited and Graham Realty Inc. in the total amount of $5,182,266.75 including all taxes, charges, and $250,000.00 in contingencies, being the lowest tender received;

(2)commencing the first day of construction (expected to be April 18, 1999) and terminating on the last day of construction (expected to be October 29, 1999), the speed limit on Highway 27 be designated as 60 kilometres per hour at the following locations:

(a)Highway 27 (southbound) from Belfield Road to a point 500 metres south of Dixon Road;

(b)Highway 27 (northbound) from a point 500 metres south of Dixon Road to a point 350 metres north of Dixon Road;

(3)the appropriate by-law(s) be amended accordingly;

(4)the introduction of any necessary Bills be authorized; and

(5)the appropriate City of Toronto officials be directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Council Reference:

The Bid Committee at its meeting held on February 17, 1999 opened the following tenders for Contract No. T-28-99, for the bridge reconstruction and associated roadworks on Dixon Road over Highway 27:

* Tender prices corrected for mathematical errors. Purchasing and Materials Management has verified that the mathematical errors are corrected.

Scope of Work:

This bridge is one of the structures transferred from the Province in 1997. The records obtained from the Province have shown that the deck and supporting concrete girders were badly deteriorated and needed to be completely rebuilt. In addition, a planning and functional design study was performed to determine the long term transportation needs of this facility. Contract T-28-99 has incorporated all recommendations from this study.

The rehabilitation work involves a complete replacement of the existing structure by a new bridge slightly south and east of its current location. The existing bridge deck carries three lanes of traffic in each direction and has a pavement width of 10.98 m on each side of the deck with no median separating the traffic. The proposed new bridge will have a 1.5 m wide raised centre median and will provide westbound and eastbound pavement widths of 11.0 m. Both approaches on Dixon Road will be rebuilt and re-aligned to the new bridge location. Highway 27 on the north and the south sides of Dixon Road will also be rebuilt and re-aligned in order to provide a 5.0 m vertical clearance under the bridge in accordance with the current Bridge Code.

It is expected that the construction activities will extend from April 18, 1999 to October 29, 1999. Throughout this period, there will be numerous stagings and lane restrictions within this section of Dixon Road as well as on Highway 27. In addition, the lane widths will be reduced and the lane configurations will be altered to create the necessary work zones. As such, a lowering of the speed limit to 60 kilometres per hour on Highway 27 is recommended to maintain safe traffic operations and a safe work zone during the construction period.

Comments:

The tender document submitted by the recommended bidder has been reviewed by the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, and was found to be in conformance with the tender requirements.

The award is subject to receipt of a favourable report from The Manager, Fair Wage and Labour Trades Office regarding working conditions and wages of the recommended contractor and his sub-contractors.

Conclusion:

This report requests authority to issue a contract for the bridge reconstruction and associated roadworks on Dixon Road over Highway 27 in accordance with specifications to Graham Bros. Construction Limited, Fairglen Excavating Limited, 795208 Ontario Limited, Graham Bros. Aggregates Limited and Graham Realty Inc. who submitted the lowest price bid for this Contract.

In order to maintain safe traffic operations and a safe work zone throughout the construction period, the speed limit should be reduced from 70 kilometres per hour to 60 kilometres per hour as set out in this report.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

M. Chung, P. Eng.,L. Pagano

Manager, Structures and ExpresswaysDirector

Metro Hall Office , Telephone: 392-8341Purchasing & Materials Management

Telephone: 392-7312

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The Urban Environment and Development Committee also had before it a communication (March 15, 19999) from Antonio Dionisio, Business Manager, Local 183, Labourer's International Union of North America, which was forwarded to all Members of Council with the agenda of the Urban Environment and Development Committee for its meeting of March 31, 1999, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk.

The following persons appeared before the Urban Environment and Development Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:

-Angelo Grassa, Grascan Construction Ltd.;

-George Rust-D'Eye, Weir and Foulds; and

-Vincent Brescia, Local 183, Labourer's International Union of North America