The Belcan Bridge project is estimated at 20.5 million dollars and the grant funding for the Swing Bridge is 24 million U.S. dollars. However, the project has not yet been awarded to a Japanese contractor, so the final numbers cannot be verified.
But while drawing up the engineering plans for the project, a key obstacle was not factored in: and that is the city's main sewer line that runs right under the Belcan.
MIDH has since been working closely with BWS to determine how they will work around it without rupturing the pipes - which, let's just say, could be very messy. And - best part? They are being guided by the 1979 WASA drawings that show where it is located:
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer - MIDH
"We have the BWS sewer main. It runs parallel to the existing structure. Right. On the north side, the BWS sewer main is approximately 4.2 meters from the last pile that we have to drive for the new structure. And on the north side, it is approximately 8.3 meters from the last pile that we have to drive on the south side. And so initially, it was a concern for us, but we had to do the setting out for the new bridge. And hence for rationale and reasoning why we had to ensure that we get the car dealers moved from Belcan, because we need to do the setting out to know where exactly the bridge will be aligned. The new structure is wider than the existing structure that is there. And so we had to set out the extent of the new structure to know how much we will have impact on the sewer main that is for BWS. However, based on what we have done, we believe we have sufficient room from that sewer main that we will avoid any damage to that main during the construction of the new bridge. But those investigations had to be done because we were notified by BWS that that main existed near the structure. So we had to do verification survey on the ground, and then also meet with the BWS personnel to ensure that that line is secured and it's also away from all constructions."
Reporter
"Okay, would it be accurate to say that during the engineering assessment for the project that the sewer pipe was not taken into account?"
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer - MIDH
"The thing is that we did not know that the pipe was there. And so when we met with BWS, they pulled up some drawing that was done in 1979. And so they had to go back as well and do that research for us. And they presented us with those drawings that were done by a Canadian company in 1979. And so those are the information that we're utilizing now for the construction of a new bridge so that we could know where those assets are located for BWS."
And while you might be concerned about the risk of something going wrong and the sewer pipe bursting…it's a possibility but the chief engineer says after their studies, it is not concerning:
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer - MIDH
"What we have discussed with BWS on a serious note, we don't anticipate that to occur based on the measurements that we have discussed and that I have mentioned. BWS was initially concerned about the close proximity of our piling. And so we will be using what we call a diesel hammer to drive these piles in place. And so based on what I have indicated to you, looking from the north and piling towards the south, we believe our last pile are at those distances that I have mentioned to you. And we don't believe that the vibration from the installation of those piles will have significant impact on the pipe. Because the pipe is also located beneath the riverbed. And it's also a steel pipe from what we have seen from the drawings that were done, as I said, in 1979. So we don't believe and we don't anticipate that that should occur. However, we have discussed the extreme with BWS. If that should occur, and if that should occur, then more than likely we will have to shut down that line from the nearest substation, which I believe is on St. Thomas Street, as far as I could understand from BWS. So that line would have to be shut down in an effort to stop the flow of waste going towards the sewer pond that are located in the Jane Usher area. So we're going to take all precautions that we can in terms of the construction. Anything could happen. But we don't expect that we will have any damage to the pipe. That's what we believe."
