Richard Froese
South Peace News
A strategy to assess and replace road bridges in Big Lakes County has been finalized as part of a report on the level of services for the infrastructure.
At its regular meeting June 26, council approved a report on the level of service for bridges and culverts as presented by Kevin Cymbaluk, director of operations.
“It includes a 20-year bridge plan and a new policy to deal with bridge priorities and closures,” said Cymbaluk at this final council meeting before he retires.
“This is a work in progress and will changes in the plan will be ongoing.
“Many projects will take two years because their large.”
At its meeting April 10, council approved a motion to direct administration to prepare a 20-year replacement plan for bridges.
The draft report was presented by senior engineer Ian Cosh of RI Engineering and Environmental. He told council that the County was lagging behind in replacing bridges.
“The replacement of bridges is falling behind which will present future difficulties in managing this asset type,” states the conclusion in the report.
“While repairs are adequately maintaining the condition of the bridges, replacements are falling behind.”
Big Lakes maintains 99 bridges, which are part of the core service, being the transportation network, the report states.
Cosh recommended the County maintain a multi-year bridge replacement program which proactively and strategically plans to replace bridges.
Before approving the plan, council discussed the need to secure funding for future projects.
North Gilwood – Triangle Councillor Jim Zabolotniuk urged council to start saving up for the work.
“Are we putting money away in reserves?” Zabolotniuk said.
Cymbaluk replied the County has a general reserve but not designated solely for bridges.
“We do have funds in reserve of about $7 million for transportation,” Cymbaluk said.
Zabolotniuk urged council to have a specific reserve for the projects.
“We want to set up a separate reserve for bridges,” Zabolotniuk said.
Reeve Tyler Airth agreed.
“One hundred per cent,” Airth said.
When council discussed the issue at its regular meeting April 10, he suggested the County draft a long-term plan.
“We should be able to have a plan beyond 10 years, maybe 25 years,” Airth said.
“We should look at replacing four or five bridges a year.”
Cymbaluk said at the April 10 meeting that provincial funding from the Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP) for replacements is in high demand.
“The province is backed up with requests for funding such as STIP,” Cymbaluk said.
Assessments are an important activity to manage bridges, Cosh says in the report.
“By using a standardized system of inspection and collecting condition information over time, bridge managers can compare different bridges within the inventory,” Cosh says.
“Where the inventory is large and valuable, a small amount of error being prevented can be worth millions of dollars per year.”
The reports are an effective investment in maximizing the useful life of bridges, he said.