City of Courtenay Annual Report 2021

5TH STREET BRIDGE PROJECT

Communication Public engagement with the community was integral to the project. Large-scale engagment with the public and community partners began in 2019. An open house offered members of the public the opportunity to review project plans, speak with project staff and provide feedback. Regular updates were provided to Council throughout 2019 and 2020. In January 2021, over 2,100 people participated in a survey to voice their preferred colour for the bridge with more than half voting for "classic green" over matte black or silver. As the project moved to construction, regular and proactive communication was shared across a variety of channels. Social media offered an immediate, economical, and effective forum for sharing project updates with the community. Bridge updates on Facebook consistently garnered some of the highest engagement of all City of Courtenay posts, giving an opportunity to provide context of the complexity and importance of bridge rehabilitation, along with interesting elements of the project. Major news and updates were distributed to media outlets for public distribution. Full-page newspaper ads leading up to construction ensured the community was well-informed of changes to traffic patterns and expected delays. A project e-newsletter provided updates to those most affected or interested in the project. Project budget The project budget to rehabilitate the 5th Street Bridge was $6.5 million. The construction contract was valued at $5.4 million. Additional project costs included project management, traffic optimizations, and contingency. The City of Courtenay received $1.96 million in grant funding from the New Building Canada – Small Communities Fund. The remainder of the project costs were funded by the City of Courtenay, including $3.4 million in borrowing.

Why did the bridge need rehabilitating? Originally constructed in 1960, the 5th Street Bridge is an important transportation connection in the Comox Valley, linking key networks to downtown Courtenay and beyond. Although the bridge has been

regularly maintained, the lead-based coating was at the end of its service life. Corrosion of the steel structure

The 5th Street Bridge Project was the City's largest infrastructure project in decades.

and the bridge deck were also identified as needing repair. Scope of work

The project was Courtenay's largest infrastructure project in decades, and included removal of the existing

concrete overlay, repairs to the bridge deck and deck beams, refurbished handrails, removal of the lead paint, recoating of the steel structure, and new road markings. The lead paint removal required that the bridge be “wrapped” to prevent contaminants from entering the environment. The scaffold installation, as well as subsequent repairs to the bridge deck, resulted in the bridge being reduced to single lane alternating traffic for the duration of the project.

Transportation impacts during construction A traffic management strategy was developed to evaluate the impacts the project would have on road users. Maintaining safe access for all modes of the transportation during the construction was a priority for the project team. The strategy recommended a single lane alternating traffic sequence to allow traffic to cross the bridge at all times. Priority lanes were established for emergency services, transit and cyclists. Dedicated space was provided on the bridge deck for pedestrians. Maintaining single-lane traffic across the bridge during construction added an estimated $700,000 to the project budget.

To learn more about the project visit courtenay.ca/fifthstreetbridge

City of Courtenay | 2021 Annual Report

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