The County of Essex is spending almost $100,000 more than it thought it would on bridge repairs in LaSalle.
Administration thought the rehabilitation job for the County Rd. 8 bridge running over the Canard River — also known as the bowstring bridge — would cost about $400,000, but Front Construction got the contract as the lowest bidder at $495,221.
The project also comes with a three month road closure, but LaSalle Mayor Ken Antaya doesn't see residents in the area getting too upset over that.
"Most of the people accessing that bridge have alternate routes because it's happened before and it's an historic bridge, so it's something that they've become accustomed to," says Antaya.
Residents in LaSalle have had to deal with a lot of construction lately as much of the work on the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway was centred near the town.
"They hardly complained and they just sort of rolled with the punches," says Antaya. "They're a hearty bunch, so I think they'll probably go along with this and just think that it's a minor inconvenience."
Manager of Design and Construction, Peter Bziuk, suggests the project overage was likely attributed to the work needed to accommodate provincially significant wetland in the area of the bridge. Work also includes rebuilding 22 vertical supports.
Administration expects to find savings in other project to absorb the overage.
Antaya feels it's money well spent.
"It's something that's needed," says Antaya. "We have to make sure that the structural integrity of that bridge is maintained so that the architectural beauty of it is also maintained in that area."
Construction is expected to start at the beginning of June and wrap before Labour Day.
The bridge was originally built in 1937.
