The work on the new Champlain Bridge is supposed to be completed by the end of 2018, but could that be slowed down by a mound of defects and other issues found during the build process?
Crews have had to make more than 2,000 repairs to various pre-fabricated pieces imported from Spain, confirmed Dan Genest, lead co-ordinator for Signature on the Saint-Laurence, the consortium that is overseeing the project.
The list of problems includes incomplete welding jobs, porous steel, defective screws and bolts, broken metal plates and cracked concrete. One report found as many as 366 defects were found in one box girder, all of which needed to be repaired on site causing several delays.
"Obviously, its a situation where we would rather not have that," said Genest, who downplayed the seriousness of the defects. "But, its typical of any fabriaction process to have more of these problems as you start, and then as you improve over time, that tends to mitigate itself."
According to Genest, of the 2,000 defects discovered, only around 80 were what he called "non-conforming" defects, which required fixing before the pieces could be added to the bridge.
That assessment is not shared by Hellen Christodoulu, director of the Institute of Canadian Steel Construction. "A large number of these imported products have potential issues that would require re-working," she told CJAD 800 News. "That re-working has an extra cost factor to it."
"The types of repairs that are required for (these) new producte are unacceptable," said Chistodoulu, who certifies steel fabricators. She believes that if the the contracts had been awarded to local steel workers, these problems would have never happened.
"The quality control on Canadian manufacturing is superb," she said. "For major projects like this, which are Canadian, historical projects, they should be giving the priority to Canadian fabrication."
The repairs also cast doubt on whether the project can still be delivered on time and on budget, but Genest says that the nature of the agreement puts the responsibility on the the consortium alone.
"We are in a fixed-price agreement," he said. "If there is a cost to fixing a defect, its the responsibility of Signature on the Saint-Laurence, and will not be passed on to the taxpayers."
Genest insisted the New Champlain Bridge will be delivered by the deadline of December 1, 2018 at a cost of $4.2 billion.