The project teams for Edmonton’s two problem bridge-replacement projects have put most of their woes behind them—if trips to civil court and possible late-completion penalties are excluded.
The key steel erection subcontractor on the bigger of the two important public works projects, the 206-meter-long, $155-million Walterdale Bridge, is seeking $12.2 million in payments and damages from joint-venture general contractor Acciona/Pacer. In a lawsuit filed in March in the Court of the Queen’s Bench in Edmonton, the steel-erection subcontractor, Winnipeg-based Capitol Steel, claims Acciona/Pacer required it to work with defectively fabricated steel and implement improper repair procedures. Ultimately, the general contractor brought in another steel fabricator-erector to make the repairs.