Project Overview

This Request for Proposal is for the engineering services required to prepare the complete detailed engineering design (preliminary design and detailed design), and to prepare contract drawings and specifications and provide contract administration and material testing services for the replacement of Structure 020220 on Regional Road 20 (Highway 20), in the City of Thorold.  Any exceptions to providing a complete design shall be listed in the proposal document, and will be taken into account as part of the evaluation process.

This design assignment including Project Initiation through to and including Approvals and Permits, and tendering are all scheduled for 2021. Construction of the works is scheduled for 2022. 

Appendix D – RFP Particulars provides a detailed description of the deliverables, material disclosures and mandatory requirements for this assignment.

The subject bridge is situated in the City of Thorold, and is located approximately 220 metres west of the Welland Canal. Appendix E – Key Plan, provides details of the location. Regional Road 20 (Highway 20) is a major two-lane arterial east/west corridor with an average annual daily traffic of approximately 15,000 (2019).This thoroughfare connects the City of Niagara Falls and City of Thorold to other municipalities to the west including the City of Welland, the Town of Pelham and others and is a significant corridor for the movement of goods, vehicles, residents of Niagara Region and tourists. Minimizing the impact to those users is to be a significant focus on this project, and accelerated bridge construction techniques are to be applied. The bridge crosses the OPG Water Works Race, and as such approval and coordination with that agency will be required.

Adjacent land use is residential, agricultural and recreational. 

In October, 2019 a regulatory mandated inspection was undertaken on the Highway 20 Bridge.   Upon review of the structure, significant deterioration of the load bearing members on the bridge was observed. Upon these findings, it was concluded that the structure bearing capacity had been lessened to a point where the structure required immediate closure and repair. Emergency repairs were completed on November, 2019.

Based on those repairs and a 2007 Bridge Load Capacity Evaluation and

Rehabilitation/Replacement Analysis Report (Appendix G), a full replacement of the structure is required.

The Niagara Region Transportation Master Plan (TMP) sets out the strategic vision for transportation in the Niagara Region over the next 25 years.  As Niagara Region implements its future growth plan outlined in How We GROW, the TMP ensures that Niagara Region plans and budgets for future transportation needs for an integrated network of cycling and pedestrian facilities, transit, roads, and highways. The TMP also recommends an updated and expanded set of policies to guide future transportation and land development decisions. The major components of the TMP are: the Regional Road System; Transportation Demand Management; Transportation Systems Management; Public Transit Active Transportation; Complete Streets; and Goods Movement. Niagara Region is committed to implementing the overall goals of the TMP as part of its transportation capital projects.