EDMONTON- City Councillors voted in favour Wednesday, of allocating an extra $19.5 million for the new Walterdale Bridge.
The vote came after a report from city administration went before Edmonton’s transportation committee. The report stated that of the four bids the city received, the lowest was 14 per cent higher than estimated costs.
“We like to see these things come in on budget. But to go back and to redo it all again, you’re not going to save any money because it will just be the delay, and the cost of re-engineering. So, we are always caught between a rock and a hard place. So we need to move ahead with it. It’s needed. The bridge is failing,” Mayor Stephen Mandel said following the council meeting Wednesday.
The city believes the higher than estimated bids are due to the risk associated with such a complex project.
The total cost of the project now sits at $155 million.
The new three-lane arched bridge is scheduled to be open in late 2015.
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