Future
On April 2, 2009, the preliminary results of an overall condition assessment of the Johnson Street Bridge were presented to Victoria City Council; Council gave approval-in-principle on April 23, 2009 to replace the 85-year-old Johnson Street Bridge.
The Delcan Report concluded:
Based on the findings of this study either a repair or a replacement option could be justified from a cost perspective. There is, however, in our opinion a need to address the seismic vulnerability of the existing bridge given that it is heavily trafficked and located in the most seismically active city in Canada. In this report we have suggested that this vulnerability should be addressed within 2 to 3 years by implementing a seismic retrofit or by replacing the bridge.
After a detailed presentation by City Engineering staff and Delcan engineering consultants, and lengthy discussion by Council, an approval-in-principle to proceed with replacement of the bridge was made.
“Today’s decision is an exciting first step that will significantly improve a vital transportation corridor to downtown. There is a tremendous amount of work ahead and we will continue to make thoughtful, prudent decisions as we proceed through this process.” Mayor Dean Fortin.
On July 9, 2009, Victoria City Council asked staff to proceed with pursuing a design-build model and developing terms of reference for an advisory panel of community representatives to participate in the Johnson Street Bridge Replacement Project.
On July 24, 2009, seven residents of Greater Victoria were named to the Johnson Street Bridge Citizen Advisory Committee and City Council awarded the Owner's Representative contract to MMM Group Limited to project manage the replacement of the 85-year-old bascule bridge.
On September 8, 2009, Victoria City Council was presented with the 3 design concepts for the new Johnson Street Bridge.
On September 24, 2009, City Council decided on the Rolling Bascule Bridge as the design for the new Johnson Street Bridge after reviewing public feedback, recommendations from the Citizens Advisory Committee and advice from a staff technical committee.
On November 19, 2009, City Council voted in favour of Alternate Approval Process to require a counter petition. (Vote, out of 8: 4 in favour, 2 against, 2 absent) If more than 10% of residents (6400) oppose the borrowing bylaw, then the issue goes to a referendum.
During October and November, 2009, Province of BC declined to contribute to funding bridge project. A few weeks later federal government approved $21 million grant for replacement project. Federal funding came from Build Canada Fund.
In December 2009, Counter Petition was launched to force the city to go to a referendum to obtain approval for funding bylaw No.09-057 to borrow $42 million towards the total of $63, with $21 million from federal funding. Text of petition reads: "I, the undersigned elector residing or owning real property within the City of Victoria, do hereby present my name on this elector response form for the purpose of opposing the Council of the City of Victoria adopting Loan Authorization (Johnson Street Bridge) Bylaw No. 09-057 without first obtaining the assent of the electors by a vote (referendum)." Signatures were to be gathered by January 4, 2010.
On 2010 January 4, Organizers presented successful counter petition to City Hall, with 9872 valid Victoria elector signatures. Borrowing bylaw for bridge project must now go to a referendum.
In 2010 February, The city commissioned MMM Group to prepare full Class C report on comparable options for replacement and rehabilitation.
On 2010 May 27, Results of Ipsos Reid survey. For residents, factors in bridge decisions rank (in order of importance) a dedicated pedestrian walkway, lifespan of the bridge, cost, dedicated bike lanes, accessibility for other users (wheelchairs, scooters, strollers, visually impaired), and safety, above heritage value and having a rail crossing. Business owners did not see a benefit from one option over the other, but concerns over cost and construction issues including potential closures were top of mind.
On June 11, 2010 Banjar Management Economic Impact Assessment identified economic benefits to "range between $48 million and $54 million for the rehabilitation alternative and $47 to $53 million for replacement of the Bridge over the four to five years required for project delivery." Negative economic impact was assessed as follows: DOWNTOWN VICTORIA BUSINESS IMPAIRMENT Full closure $10.3 million One lane open $5.1 million Two lanes open $2.6 million VEHICLE DIVERSION TRAVEL TIME COSTS Full closure $1.6 million One lane open $1.0 million Two lanes open $0.4 million BUS DIVERSION COSTS ONE YEAR TWO YEAR Transit Operation Cost $0.5 million $1.0 million Transit passenger travel time $1.0 million $2.0 million
On June 14, 2010, MMM Engineering Group made a presentation to council of their report on the rehabilitation and replacement options, including updated cost estimates, revised timelines, economic impact study of potential closures and options for different levels of seismic upgrading (6.5m vs 8.5m). Refurbishment, with seismic upgrades to 8.5 as recommended in the report, and a third, new span to be a multi-use bridge, is estimated to cost 103 million. Replacement of the existing structure, with accompanying work on the approaches to the bridge, with priority given to a mix of users including vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, is estimated to cost 89 million. The MMM Group study was also peer-reviewed by Stantec Consulting Ltd, Victoria. Stantec found the proposed bridge "technically appropriate", and that the projected costs for both rehab and replacement were "considered reasonable."
On June 17, City Council decided to ask other municipalities to fund the costs of maintaining the rail link. This would reduce the cost of refurbishment by $23 million, and replacement by $12 million. Long-term planning for commuter rail to the Western communities will be affected if the rail line no longer crosses into downtown Victoria, and instead terminates in Victoria West. The deadline for obtaining this funding was August 12, 2010. The City Council also voted on this date to update the bridge to a seismic standard of 8.5 magnitude.
On July 8, 2010, Information packages and numbered surveys were sent out to all Victoria residents. The city invited input up to August 12 deadline.
In July 2010, City of Victoria hosted 2 open houses and bridge tours to provide information on the projects to residents. City staff, engineers, and project managers were present to answer questions.
On August 12, 2010, Victoria city councillors voted to replace the Johnson Street Bridge, rather than refurbish the existing bridge. All councillors except for Coun. Geoff Young supported replacing the bridge. The vote was done after tours, open houses, and surveys were done to inform residents of Victoria of the options. An Ipsos-Reid survey found that 64% and 68% of residents and businesses respectively preferred replacing the bridge with a new one. A referendum would still be held on November 20, 2010 to ask residents if they support the city borrowing money for the cost of the new bridge.
On November 20, 2010 the referendum to support the city borrowing money for the cost of the new bridge passed 60% to 40%. The new bridge is scheduled to be completed in 2015, at which time the old bridge will be removed.
On March 31, 2011, the bridge was closed to rail traffic after inspections found corrosion on key structural supports. The Victoria – Courtenay train, which has been suspended since March 19, needs to set up a temporary stop.
The project was delayed about 6 months while the communications cable was moved further north out of the way of the new span. On February 10, 2012 demolition started on the rail side of the trestle with bracing the bridge in key areas and starting work on taking down the counter weight for the rail side.
A City of Victoria website is supporting the project and Ross Crockford, Yule Heibel, and Mat Wright are running a preservationist web site . There is also a local group "The JSB Group", made up of downtown residents and business owners that support the new Johnson Street Bridge.
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The Johnson Street Bridge closing
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The Johnson Street Bridge opening
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Johnson Street Bridge from the Harbour
Read more about this topic: Johnson Street Bridge
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