ABOVE: As well as the Dufferin bridge, provincial politicians are also worried about the Windsor parkway. Alan Carter reports.
TORONTO – Ontario’s governing Liberals decided Wednesday not to replace 500 girders used in the construction of a $1.4-billion parkway in Windsor, even though their own expert panel cannot confirm that they’re safe.
“We will not open up a single bridge and road in Windsor until it meets Ontario standards and is signed off by the chief engineer,” Transportation Minister Glen Murray told the legislature as the report was released.
The panel of engineers said the girders used in one of Canada’s largest infrastructure projects don’t meet federal code because of tack welding that can increase the risk of corrosion.
The report poses the question: can the 500 girders be made safe and durable with remedial measures? The answer from the engineers, a unanimous “perhaps.”
The chief engineer of Ontario reviewed the options of replacing the girders or fixing them as much as possible and monitoring closely for cracks and corrosion, and concluded most could be salvaged, said Murray.
“We did not consider costs” in deciding not to scrap the 500 girders that have already been installed, he said.
“There was not a politician or an accountant involved in this decision. This was purely an engineering and safety standards decision, as it should be.”
The panel’s report also said there’s evidence that the safety and durability of the girders have been compromised, and concluded it’s not sure whether the girders can be made safe and durable now that they’ve been installed.
Taxpayers will not be on the hook for any additional costs because of the remedial work that needs to be done on the girders and the monitoring program that will be required, and the parkway should be open to motorists late in 2014, said Murray.
“There might be a small delay, but I’m told it won’t be a major one,” he said. “I’m told also the chance of there being additional cost to the taxpayers of Ontario is minimal to almost zero.”
Murray dismissed accusations that he went with a less expensive option, saying the province’s chief engineer made the decision.
“The chief engineer of Ontario has set the standards and found a pathway to ensure that those engineering standards that we have to meet can be met,” he said.
Windsor Essex Mobility Group, which installed the girders, said it disagrees with the report’s conclusions but will co-operate with the government.
One of the consortium’s contractors, Freyssinet Canada Ltd., fabricated the girders in Ontario.
The report said some of the girders were manufactured before the plant obtained certification from the Canadian Standards Association, which was responsible for quality control.
The Liberals stopped the installation of the girders in July after questions were raised about whether they were safe, but the New Democrats said they should have acted months earlier.
“I think what the people of Windsor are wondering is are they going to be safe, is the solution going to be one they can rely on and know that their safety is being taken care of,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
“But what I think this shows is that the minister and his team in the ministry really let this thing get away without doing their due diligence up front.”
The government also closed a bridge in south Windsor at the end of August based on information found during the review. Murray says it will stay closed.
The ministry has said it became aware that the girders didn’t meet federal code requirements in late 2012. Murray says he wasn’t aware of the problem until May.
The Herb Gray Parkway is an 11-kilometre corridor that includes 11 tunnel sections covering 1.8 kilometres of freeway, a six-lane below-grade freeway from Highway 401 and a four-lane at-grade road extension from Highway 3.
– With files from Keith Leslie
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