Chilliwack, BC – Chilliwack City Council moved one step forward towards the 2016 start of the New Vedder Bridge Construction.
Martens Asphalt Ltd./ McElhanney Engineering Ltd., Emil Anderson Construction (EAC) Inc/Klohn Crippen Berger; and Surespan Construction Ltd./Hatch Mott MacDonald have been narrowed down to the RFP Request For Proposal for the new Vedder Bridge. City Staff now have to pour over before the final approval for construction of the $12M+ bridge.
The three finalists will propose two different plans – one with all the bells and whistles and one that is a basic bridge design. Council will get a chance to see those proposals.
The actual total cost for the new Vedder Bridge comes in at $12,563,750. Both Ottawa and Victoria kick in $4, 187, 916 with the City picking up $4M including the balance.
This will be a two lane steel plate girder with room on both sides of the bridge for pedestrians and bikes.
Yes, there will be a roundabout to handle traffic onto the bridge, into the Vedder Trail parking and access to Chilliwack River Road.
The original bridge was built as a temporary Bailey Bridge in 1947, and a new bridge was stared through City Council discussion in December 2011.
Construction (after the tendering process) will start sometime in 2016 and the expected completion date will be the Fall of 2018. The new Bridge will be built along side the old one (similar to the recent Port Mann Bridge project) and when the new one is running, the old one will come down.
What Council didn’t have to deal with was a proposed abattoir (slaughterhouse) from Meadow Valley Meats. The proposed location was on Brannick Place near a number of Airport Road businesses. It’s not clear why the proposal was pulled at the last minute, although there was firestorm of protests over the prosposal, especially the concern over the smell (Even though the company said that would not be an issue as everything would be enclosed and monitored.)
During the Liason Reports, Mayor Sharon Gaetz noted that the UBCM Union of BC Municipalities will meet next week. The hot topic is homelessness and the Mayor implored that the Province and the Feds do more for low income housing and deal with serious housing needs for the homeless.
