Delay has nothing to do with the dramatic rise in costs, in fact according to the Vancouver Island Construction Association, labour and material costs have fallen 15-20% since 2008, and the strengthening Canadian Dollar means materials purchased in the US are cheaper. [...]
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A greater principle is also at stake here. Governments have a duty to thoroughly explore simpler, less-costly solutions to problems, before throwing millions of dollars at more expensive ones. Relying on a “quick” analysis that a cheaper solution won’t work is not acceptable. If the City is unwilling to try fixing obvious, existing problems, how can citizens believe that it will be able to successfully execute a far larger and more costly project? [...]  Nathan Holth, the webmaster behind historicbridges.org, has posted a critique on City of Victoria plans to replace Victoria’s Johnson Street Bridge. His post points out the flaws in information gathering, representation of expert engineering firms, and presentation that lead City of Victoria Council to the original decision for bridge replacement. [...] Denise Savoie, Victoria NDP MP, has confirmation from Federal Minister John Baird that the allocated $21 million originally provided for bridge replacement can be used to offset costs for a bridge repair. [...] Ed Wortman is a retired bridge engineer who specialized in restoring historical structures and was in charge of the restoration program of Portland Oregon’s historical bridge restoration program. Sharon Wortman is Portland’s unofficial bridge historian and has written three editions of The Portland Bridge Book. She is also helping direct the 2010 Festival of Bridges: Celebrating Portland’s Historical Bridges. [...] Mr. Nelson was invited to Victoria to inform the public through media interviews, an open public meeting, and conversations with council members and stakeholders, that a refurbishment option for the bridge was as viable as replacement, and would save money in the short and long term. [...] We are pleased to announce a public meeting with guest Frank Nelson, Senior Supervisory Engineer in the Seattle office of Parsons Brinckerhoff, one of the world’s largest engineering firms, who will present a case for restoration of the Johnson Street Bridge. [...] In a somewhat surprising move City of Victoria council has not moved towards replacement or refurbishment, but have put more questions to staff, and granted an open time frame to consider options. [...] At the last meeting, with the announcement the project would not receive federal and provincial funding, council gave itself two weeks to ask staff questions – and hopefully look at all the implications, especially city financing, potential tax hikes, and the effects on other pressing projects. [...] A report commissioned by the City of Victoria (but to date not released by the city) concludes that the Johnson Street Bridge has “significant heritage value.” Yet the city is disregarding this information in a rush to replace an irreplaceable piece of early 20th-century technology. [...] |
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