OGRA and RCCAO release report on County of Wellington bridges

OAKVILLE, ON, Oct. 17, 2013 /CNW/ - A study commissioned by the Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA), the Residential & Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) concludes that Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) is worth exploring to maintain Ontario's bridges and culverts in a good state of repair.

This report evaluated the bridge infrastructure needs of the County of Wellington and its lower tier municipalities to assess the potential application of alternative delivery methods. Based on an analysis of 635 structures, it was found that savings of 13% to 20% could be achieved using AFP contracts.

OGRA and RCCAO are pleased to announce the study is now complete and the full report may be found on both organizations websites or by clicking here.

OGRA President Joanne Vanderheyden is pleased with OGRA's involvement and feels that "this study is the first step in the right direction to explore the potential of alternative delivery approaches. Moreover, this collaborative study proves that an asset management solution, such as Municipal DataWorks (MDW), is imperative. OGRA has the database to document Ontario Structure Inspection Manual (OSIM) reports and with MDW's recent growth, this study supports the notion for a centralized repository for infrastructure data."

Joe Tiernay, OGRA Executive Director, said "This is an important initiative. For the first time, we have looked at how AFP might work for smaller municipalities in Ontario. Although the report concluded that there are a number of challenges to overcome, it also points to a future where municipalities of all sizes will be able to collaboratively
explore AFP."

Andy Manahan, RCCAO's Executive Director, added "this analysis confirms that bundling of bridges and culverts will increase the size of contracts so that AFP methods can be employed for long-term, regular maintenance of these structures."

The mandate of the Ontario Good Roads Association is to represent the infrastructure interests of municipalities through advocacy, consultation, training and the delivery of identified services.

The Residential & Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario's goal is to work in cooperation with governments and related stakeholders to offer realistic solutions to our infrastructure challenges.

This study was financially supported by the Ministry of Transportation.

OGRA's publication Milestones Magazine has highlighted the report in an article entitled The Bridges of Wellington County, please click here to read.

CONTACT

To learn more information, please visit www.ogra.org or www.rccao.com.

SOURCE: Ontario Good Roads Association

Ontario Good Roads Association
1525 Cornwall Road, Unit 22
Oakville, ON L6J 0B2
PHONE: 289-291-OGRA (6472)
FAX: [phone]

Residential & Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario
25 North Rivermede Road, Unit 13
Vaughan, Ontario L4K 5V4
PHONE: [phone] OR 1-866-531-1608
FAX: [phone]