Thirty years later, city celebrates innovative deal to build Charleswood Bridge

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This article was published 18/10/2024 (373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg, which will soon take ownership of the Charleswood Bridge, credits its first public-private partnership for keeping the structure in “pristine condition” for nearly 30 years.

However, the hotly debated “P3” model that produced the $45.8-million structure — an extension of Moray Street from Portage Avenue to Roblin Boulevard — wasn’t deemed a silver bullet to speed up and better maintain all types of city construction.

About 50 years after space was set aside to build the bridge, detailed engineering work began in September 1994, with construction completed in October 1995. The deal covered the design, financing and construction of the bridge, while also including its private maintenance for the first 30 years.

“This was more than just a bridge. It was a bold new approach to procurement and construction, one that would go on to inspire future projects in our city and, in fact, across our country as well… to deliver a project that was faster, smarter and more efficient,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham, during a Friday news conference.

Ownership will be transferred back to the city in late 2025, though the final round of major private maintenance work was just completed, which renewed the roadway surface, stairs and barriers.

A city news release describes the bridge as the first “true build-own-operate-transfer” infrastructure project in Canada.

Gillingham said the construction included technical innovations, including flexible asphalt pavement and the longest precast concrete girders in Manitoba at the time, which spanned 40 metres.

The mayor noted the more recent Chief Peguis Trail and Southwest Rapid Transitway were also built through P3 projects.

But Gillingham stopped short of calling for the funding model to be used for far more projects.

“I’m open to more P3 projects but the bigger principle, what I want us to pursue, is innovation, finding innovative ways to work with the private sector, other levels of government to build the capital infrastructure assets that we need. Perhaps not every project would benefit from a P3 model,” he said.

A member of DBF Ltd., the private partner in the Charleswood Bridge project, said the structure should hold up well into the future.

“It was cutting-edge for Winipeg… It provided the city a guaranteed price and guaranteed maintenance,” said Norbert Hansch.

Ernst Hansch Construction built the bridge to a high standard, Hansch told the Free Press, suggesting governments should consider the P3 model more often.

However, he also acknowledged that P3s have attracted critics for decades.

Some oppose handing over maintenance and ownership of public assets to private companies for an extended term, arguing that could lead to lower quality construction.

Not all construction is suited to this type of arrangement, Hansch said.

“If you’re doing a road renewal on Broadway, that’s not a P3. That’s complicated, there’s (many) businesses (affected)… If it’s a really complicated project, it makes no sense,” he said.

For example, Hansch said projects that require a high number of property expropriations and those that require complicated changes to rail lines or utility corridors may not be suited to a public-private partnership.

Earlier this week, the Manitoba government said it had officially cancelled a plan to build nine schools through a P3 model, which was promised by the previous Progressive Conservative government. Premier Wab Kinew has said his government prefers a traditional construction model but agrees new schools are needed.

“We are building schools in Manitoba and believe Manitobans should own these assets because we all benefit from them and at the same time want to get the best value for taxpayers,” a provincial statement said Friday.

Hansch said he thinks a P3 could work for schools, as long as the construction is divided into smaller projects covering one or two schools each, to help ensure many companies could bid for the work.

George Fraser, a former city councillor who lobbied for the Charleswood Bridge project in the 1990s, said the bridge’s success indicates governments should consider P3s.

“It has some controversy attached to it… But it shouldn’t be ignored as an option,” said Fraser.

Gillingham said he expects the city’s recent focus on road renewal will help ensure the Charleswood Bridge and other key infrastructure projects are maintained. He hopes a new funding formula with the provincial government could provide more city revenue to support that effort.

Minor work on the bridge’s walkways and sidewalks should be completed within the next eight months.

– With files from The Canadian Press

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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