Councillors question Sixth Avenue viaduct issues on day 1 of budget talks

“We don’t know exactly how much damage there is because we can’t see it.”

A recent inspection, the first since 2015, showed issues in the concrete slab but the viaduct’s expansion joints will need repair as well.

The current ask is for $1 million, which would likely be enough to repair the visible issues but may not cover underlying problems.

Public works will also ask for $150,000 to hire a consultant to investigate more but it won’t be until the bridge deck is taken off to fully understand the scope of the issue.

That could mean coming back to ask for more money as it would cost too much to remove part of the deck to look underneath and then replace it only to dig it up again when the work actually got done.

Surface damage has happened because it appears a train collided with the bridge and fires have been lit underneath but da Silva said that’s not the reason for the structural damage.

Councillors Bryce Laewetz and Dan Brown spent the first morning of budget deliberations asking to have most requests halved. However, they were joined by other councillors who were reluctant to approve a project until they have more details.

The nature of the issue makes that difficult, however.

“We’ve done a simple analysis on what we can see. We need to do a deeper analysis on what we can’t see,” said City Manager Sheri Persson.

Da Silva cautioned that delaying repairs would lead to increased damage.

Some discussion also went on about the impact of cutting projects this year and how that impacts next year’s budget.

One of Brown’s first motions was to half the annual roadways expenditure from $4.4 million to $2.2 million.

“The roadways are not that bad. We need to make huge cuts,” he said.

The problem is that reducing repairs to road surfaces also impacts the city’s underground services as they have been replacing or upgrading below ground when they do the surfaces to save money.

The motion was not passed.

Coun. Blake Edward’s said he had been considering suggesting it be raised as the total hasn’t changed for some years and increased costs have eaten away at what can be done each year.

For Mayor Bill Powalinsky, he’s focused on future planning.

“We’re on the point of business, industry and community expansion,” he said. “We have to pivot for growth, pivot for the future.”

A decision on the bridge was not made on Wednesday. Council deferred it towards the end of the budget process in order to get more information first.

Budget meetings will continue on Thursday and Friday, with major expenditures also in the police and fire department budgets.

by Susan McNeil

Councillors question Sixth Avenue viaduct issues on day 1 of budget talks

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