Long-anticipated <a href="http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/highway-bridges/nipigon-bridge/index.shtml">reports</a> released Thursday show the Nipigon River Bridge malfunctioned because the bolts were overloaded, according to tests that also estimate a forthcoming permanent retrofit will cost the Ministry of Transportation roughly $8 million to $12 million.
That's on top of the $106 million spent to build Ontario's first cable-stayed bridge in Nipigon (a township of about 1,600, located about 100 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay), the bolts for which failed in January (less than two months after the bridge opened to traffic) because of overloading, according to two independent tests conducted by engineering firms and an internal analysis by MTO. In January, 40 bolts fastened at the northwest bearing failed and caused the corner of the bridge to elevate 60 centimeters, making the bridge impassable. A temporary hold-down was installed to allow traffic to pass through shortly after.
In an update Thursday, Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said the overloading occurred based on three main factors, including the design of the "shoe plate," which increased the forces on the two outer rows of bolts. A government release notes, "this additional force resulted in the bolt heads/nuts bending, stretching and eventually breaking." A lack of rotation in the bearing increased pressure on the bolts, causing them to break. As well, the bolts themselves were improperly tightened.
"Now, any one of these factors could have led to the same result on their own, over the long term, but combined together, they caused the northwest corner of the bridge to lift, as you all know, shortly after opening," Del Duca said at a media conference at the site Thursday.
Del Duca added the ministry is creating a <a href="http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/highway-bridges/nipigon-bridge/pdfs/permanent-retrofit-fact-sheet.pdf">"robust" permanent fix</a>, construction for which is expected to start in winter with completion expected next spring. The retrofit will run up a bill that Del Duca estimates to come in at "roughly" $8 million to $12 million.
The government is also planning an emergency detour route once an environmental assessment and a formal route-planning study are complete, which are expected to take 18 months.
"While our government has full confidence that the retrofit, once complete, will ensure that the bridge is safe for all users, this detour route would provide an alternate option for local residents and businesses in an emergency," adds a <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2016/09/joint-statement-on-nipigon-river-bridge.html">joint statement</a> from Del Duca and Thunder Bay MPP Michael Gravelle.
The Progressive Conservatives' transportation critic Michael Harris — who has repeatedly hounded MTO in question period and on the order paper for the test results — said questions remain unanswered. He is concerned the shoddy function of the Nipigon Bridge raises questions about the safety of others in the province, and accused the Liberals of speedily pushing construction through at a time when voters were casting ballots.
"We had heard initially that they rushed this project to be built prior to the 2011 election to make it look politically advantageous for them," Harris said. "(The test results) point back to government oversight. Where were they and why did they allow this to happen?
Look, design flaws, period ... Were they trying to save a few bucks on the job that now has led to a $12 million cost to who knows who, it could be the taxpayers, likely it will be — all questions that have to be asked to the government. They need to explain themselves here."
In July, Harris sent an open letter to the premier echoing his New Democrat counterpart Wayne Gates' accusations that MTO was stalling over publicly releasing the tests, which had landed on the the ministry's desk several weeks prior.
The NDP's transportation critic said in a statement Thursday that the government didn’t take their project oversight responsibilities seriously.
"Any engineering and design installation failures should have been caught before the Ministry of Transportation opened the Nipigon Bridge to passenger traffic in the first place," Gates said. "The buck stops with the Minister of Transportation. Unfortunately, by keeping Ontarians in the dark for more than eight months, he has seriously eroded public confidence in the safety of Ontario’s road and bridge network."
Del Duca <a href="http://www.qpbriefing.com/2016/07/22/opposition-wants-reports-on-nipigon-bridge-failure-made-public/">has repeatedly said</a> the test results were but one thread in a wider tapestry and that it would be reckless to publicly release information in piecemeal fashion.
The Nipigon River Bridge cleaves the Ontario portion of the Trans Canada Highway into east and west and, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nipigon-river-bridge-1.3399184" target="_blank">according to the CBC</a>, carries about 1,300 trucks hauling $100 million worth of goods on a typical day.
No injuries were reported when the bridge malfunctioned, and traffic is currently flowing.
To contact the reporter on this story: snanji@qpbriefing.com

Nipigon River Bridge failure caused by overloaded bolts: long-awaited MTO reports

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