With a tender for the project now awarded, Kamloops city council has paved the way for a major reconstruction of Overlanders Bridge.
As expected, council on Tuesday, March 10, unanimously agreed to award a $9.3-million contract for the bridge work to Innovative Civil Constructors, a Niagara Falls-based firm.
Council also agreed to add another $1 million to the budget for the project, drawing on the city’s arterial roads, active transportation and bridge repair funds. That extra $1 million is intended to provide a contingency fund and to cover other costs, including a public-communications budget.
Public works director Jen Fretz said the additional funds will cover the costs of public communications during the project, as well as contingency funds and other administrative expenses.
Innovative’s tender was the second-lowest of six the city received. A lower bid of $7.9 million from HRC Construction was deemed non-compliant, Fretz said, because it did not include required scheduling information.
As part of the tender, Innovative must repair and resurface the Overlanders’ deck, repair the sidewalk on the west side of the bridge, resurface access roads to the bridge and resurface the Tranquille Road overpass on the north side of the span that leads to the Tranquille Market shopping area.
Fretz said the city will meet with its contractor to determine an exact schedule for the project, but does plan to allow 24/7 construction on the bridge.
While the city has planned to keep one lane of traffic in each direction open at all times, Mayor Peter Milobar suggested looking at allowing a single lane of traffic across the bridge during overnight construction.
Work on the bridge is expected to begin in April and could last about five months.
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