County to submit four bridge files for STIP funding

Commentator/Courier

Cypress County council voted to have administration send the 2022 Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP) funding applications in for four bridge files at their Nov. 16 meeting.

Bridge file 6379 pertains to the structure located on Township Road 92—which is  a gravel county road that connects Range Road 40 and Eagle Butte Road. The requested funding is for the replacement of an existing failing three-span bridge with a new structure.

Bridge 7380 is located north of Seven Persons on Range Road 73, where a level 1  Bridge Inspection and Maintenance  program (BIM) was completed on an 1800millimetre-by-33.5 metre CSP culvert in April to update its condition. The structural condition rating is 33.3 and sufficiency rating is 39.1.

“The structural condition rating is the ratio of the general rating for the culvert barrel to the maximum possible rating and is expressed as a percentage. It reflects the structural condition of the culvert barrel at the time of the last inspection compared to the structural condition of a new culvert barrel without any defects,” as read from open.alberta.ca.

Any rating below 50 per cent is in bad condition for both ratings.

The sufficiency rating indicates the adequacy of a structure relative to an acceptable standard of a new structure at the same location.

The estimated replacement year is in 2023 with BVBS (reviewer data/entry consultant) recommended to replace the culvert versus strutting within the next five years.

Bridge 76429 is located on Range Road 63, between Township Road 120 and Highway 3.

A  level 1 BIM inspection was performed on this 1710 millimetre-by-1890 millimetre-by-29.2 metre  horizontally ellipse SPE culvert in April to  update the condition of the culvert.

The Structural Condition Rating is 33.3; the Sufficiency Rating 34.2 and the estimated time of replacement was by 2022.

The inspection’s recommendation was for the  inspection cycle be reduced to 12-month cycle until the culvert is repaired/replaced.

Bridge File 7307 is located south of Seven Persons, east of Township Road 104 and crosses Seven Persons Creek. WSP made attempt to perform a timber coring in October. However, they were not able to do the coring due to deep water in a creek under the bridge. It was at the recommendation of WSP to perform the timber coring in January or February 2022 and apply for STIP funding  to complete for necessary repairs.

A level 1  Bridge Inspection and Maintenance System  was performed on Aug. 17, 2019, updating the condition of the bridge. The girders and backwalls are rated 3 currently.

“The four bridge rehabilitation projects have a total cost of $2,921,000 with a municipal contribution if successful with all five applications of $730,250 ($2,190,750 in grant funding),” as read in the agenda package.

Old Trans-Canada Highway

Council approved for administration to apply for Resource Road Program funding for the Old Trans-Canada Highway  for between Highway 524 to Range Road 65. The project’s cost is $3,021,400.

“This program applies to local roads and bridges—including intersection improvements where local roads connect with provincial highways,” as read in the agenda package.

The approved projects’ cost share  will be based on 50 % provincial and 50 % municipal basis up to a maximum of $3 million per project.

Council brief:

Irvine stop signs

Council voted in favour of the county installing two stop signs in Irvine. One was installed last week at Wilhelm Street and South Railway Avenue and the other at Francis Street and Pacific Avenue.

The stop signs were installed because of safety concerns.

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