Government of Canada Awards Design Contract for the Rehabilitation of the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge

Government of Canada/Public Works — February 21, 2012

BURLINGTON, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 21, 2012) - Today, Mike Wallace, Member of Parliament for Burlington, on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, announced the awarding of a $1.9 million consulting engineering design contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff Halsall Inc. of Toronto, Ontario, for the rehabilitation of the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge.

"Our Government is focused on the Canadian economy and creating jobs," said Minister Ambrose. "Investments like this one help keep our economy moving while ensuring that we continue to provide safe and reliable public infrastructure for all Canadians."

"As a local member of Parliament, I am happy to see this contract awarded because it represents good news for residents in this region who, on a daily basis, rely on this important infrastructure. This investment will create good local jobs and it will also address the short- and longer-term safety and operational requirements of this vital asset," Mr. Wallace said.

The four-lane Burlington Canal Lift Bridge, completed in 1962, spans the Burlington Bay Canal, which connects Lake Ontario to the Port of Hamilton. In addition to providing a highway link between Burlington and Hamilton for thousands of commuters a day, the bridge's lift function allows commercial marine traffic to move freely from Lake Ontario to the Port of Hamilton. The bridge is also used by cyclists and pedestrians and is a designated provincial emergency response route.

This contract award follows the recent Government of Canada announcements of new investments of approximately $250 million, over the next five years, in Public Works and Government Services Canada's (PWGSC) infrastructure projects across the country for a total of $320 million in funding for these assets, as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan. PWGSC is responsible for 20 engineering assets across the country, including the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge, and is carrying out a five-year major capital work plan to ensure that they remain safe. As part of this plan, PWGSC is proceeding with this rehabilitation project.

The contract was competitively awarded and will provide consulting engineering design services as well as the preparation of construction drawings and specifications for the mechanical and electrical rehabilitation of the bridge. Parsons Brinckerhoff Halsall Inc. will provide administrative and supervisory services throughout the project. The design work is expected to be completed in March 2013.

PWGSC will solicit bids for the construction work, which is expected to begin in July 2013 and be completed in two years.

For further information on the recent announcement on public infrastructure investments, please see http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?mthd=tp&crtr.page=1&nid=651269&crtr.tp1D=1.

Ce texte est également disponible en français.

PWGSC news releases are also available on our Internet site at http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/medias-media/index-eng.html.

Contact Information

Michelle Bakos
Office of the Honourable Rona Ambrose
819-997-5421

Media Relations
Public Works and Government Services Canada
819-956-2315