WATCH ABOVE: A day after four girders on the 102 Avenue bridge buckled, we still don’t know why. But, as Fletcher Kent reports, the fallout is becoming clearer.
EDMONTON — Early Monday morning, four of the 40-tonne girders being put in place for the 102 Avenue bridge buckled as much as a metre and a half.
Officials are still trying to determine what caused the malfunction and are looking at four potential causes. However, as crews bring in a larger crane to support the bridge and allow them to inspect, repair or remove the girders, Groat Road will have to remain closed to traffic.
READ MORE: Groat Road to remain closed for three weeks for curvy girder repairs
Safety is the city’s priority, but officials say a primary focus is also getting Groat Road open again.
Here are six things you need to know about the 102 Avenue bridge project and the Groat Road closure:
Timeline
The city says the tentative reopening date for Groat Road is April 7.
In a three-week period, crews will support the girders, assess the damage and come up with a plan.
During week one, a larger 1,200-tonne crane is being brought in from Acheson and assembled.
During week two, crews will use the crane to stabilize the bridge and the bent girders.
During week three, crews will address the damage by either removing or repairing the bent girders.
“We’re looking at April 7 as our tentative open, but we’ve had to build some time in for weather, and that’s included within that schedule,” said Barry Belcourt, branch manager of Roads Design and Construction.
“That’s a very, very aggressive schedule.”
Belcourt said ordering new girders would bump the overall bridge schedule back significantly.
“It would take six months. That means we’ve lost this construction season. Those girders probably wouldn’t be put up in the wintertime, so that means you’re into next year’s construction season.”
Wind rules
During construction of the 102 Avenue bridge, work was halted any time winds exceeded 15 km/h.
This rule came into effect over the weekend because of high winds in Edmonton.
“If anyone was here in Edmonton on Saturday night, the wind was extreme,” said Belcour.
“It far exceeded the 15 km/h that was part of our criteria.”
Work stopped late Saturday afternoon and there was a 12-hour delay due to wind.
The wind is one of four potential causes (environment, the steel product, how it was erected, and overall design) being investigated as playing a role in the girders buckling.
WATCH: Despite the Groat Road incident, and other notable construction delays, the city says projects are in good hands. Kendra Slugoski reports.
Cost
Currently, there are two options being looked at: straightening out the girders and reusing them or replacing them.
“We’re not going to use a defective product,” stressed Belcourt. “If we have any inkling at all that those girders are damaged we will not allow them to be put on the new bridge.”
If the girders end up being replaced, the city will not shoulder the cost.
“I don’t know the exact cost, but any of that cost would not be borne by the City of Edmonton. That cost is part of our contracts.”
“Steel is not cheap. This is a $25 million contract.”
On Monday Belcourt said the delay is likely to add to the project’s cost, which is pegged at $32 million.
However, he explained there are penalties in the contract that address the number of days Groat Road is closed.
The city will have to wait until the cause of the buckling is confirmed in order to help determine liability.
Groat Road traffic
On average, the city says each day 40,000 vehicles use Groat Road west of Victoria Park Road.
“My priority is getting Groat Road open,” stressed Belcour.
Before the old 102 Avenue bridge was closed for construction, 21,000 vehicles took that route each day.
Those motorists have been transferred to various alternative routes, including 107 Avenue and 111 Avenue.
Public complaints
The city says 311 has been fielding a lot of inquiries about the project’s delay and the Groat Road closure.
Kelly FitzGibbon from Transportation Services said they’ve been monitoring Twitter feeds and Facebook comments and said there have been a lot of questions and some complaints as well.
“I wouldn’t say there’s been hundreds,” she said. “There’s been a few.”
She added residents can follow the progress of the assembly of the larger crane by watching the Earth Cam.
“I think we — as a council — need to humbly, sincerely apologize to Edmontonians that all of this has happened,” said Councillor Scott McKeen on Tuesday.
“It’s so regrettable.”
Other city projects
Belcour says this latest delay shouldn’t create concern about other transportation projects in Edmonton.
“We’ve built a whole bunch of other bridges in the past that have gone very good,” he said. “We do hundreds of projects in a year.”
“We’re the same people doing the work,” he added. “We’re using pre-qualified contractors and consultants… It’s no indication that things are falling apart.”
Belcour said the city will provide daily updates on the bridge’s progress.
Another local bridge project – the Walterdale Bridge replacement – is scheduled to open to traffic by the end of 2015.
“We’ve been very fortunate that, with our inspection process on bridges, we haven’t had to close any bridges, we haven’t had any bridges fail that are in service, and we’re not going to let that happen.”
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