ONTARIO'S BRIDGES - BRIDGING THE GAP - Complete ... - rccao

3. Provide Technical LeadershipMTO should continue to provide municipalities with the technical expertise, guidanceand standards for bridge design, construction, maintenance and inspection. Uniformreporting and bridge condition standards should be established across the province.The Ontario government should provide support for research and development in theareas of bridge testing and inspection technologies, and in bridge engineering designsthat improve the life expectancy and reduce maintenance costs of bridges. Advancedbridge inspection techniques and technology should be encouraged.4. Strengthen Provincial LegislationLegislation may need to be updated to more clearly define municipal and provincialbridge responsibilities.Legislation must be strengthened to ensure the proper accreditation of individualsperforming bridge inspections.5. Establish Multi-year FundingA sustainable multi-year funding program will be the essential corner stone to dealingwith Ontario’s bridge infrastructure rehabilitation backlog for both provincial andmunicipal bridges.The province is currently consulting with municipalities on how to address allmunicipal infrastructure and service delivery needs. Funding for bridge infrastructure isonly one part of these discussions. The provision of some form of multi-year fundingprogram for municipalities for bridge infrastructure rehabilitation should be a criticalcomponent of the outcome of those discussions.6. Use Alternative Delivery MethodsProvincial and municipal governments should give serious consideration to alternativedelivery methods that address the mounting infrastructure repair and constructionbacklog, and related funding burden. Alternative delivery methods such as Design-Build, Design-Build-Maintain, Design-Build-Finance-Operate and public privatepartnerships have been successfully utilized for building other types of infrastructure,most notably highways and buildings. The adoption of such approaches should beseriously considered to accelerate the work, minimize overall costs and reduce risksfor government authorities.To test the concept alternative delivery methods for bridges, a trial could beestablished to tender several (or all structures) within a geographic or municipalboundary under a longer term public private partnership contract to include fullresponsibility for inspection, design, construction and maintenance.In order to ensure the public’s safety, the provincial government needs totake a leadership role in the area of bridge safety.RCCAO | IIC | Ontario Bridges Bridging the GapMMM Group | November 2007 D16-0707619