Not only did the reconstruction of the Line 5-County Road 27 intersection take longer to complete than anticipated, but the project also is nearly $1.5 million over budget and Simcoe County staff want the company they feel is responsible to pay up.
Simcoe County councillors, sitting as committee of the whole, recommended approving a budget increase of 17.6 per cent for the completed reconstruction project at their Jan. 31 meeting. They also gave staff the OK to pursue recovery of funds from Enbridge, to cover the overage as the increase was “as a result of the re-classification of a gas main by Enbridge to ‘vital'.”
The presence of the vital main caused “additional delays and costs for the reconstruction” and “significant changes to construction staging,” a staff report stated.
Those changes included additional import and export of granulars, traffic control barriers and pavement, staff indicated, along with excavations at the site. The county and its design consultant are currently reviewing the extra work completed to determine just how much money it will seek to recoup from Enbridge.
Planned for nearly a decade before shovels went in the ground, construction began on the intersection in May 2021. A frequent spot for collisions, the work was designed to re-align the Line 5-County Road 27 intersection to improve sight lines, add turning lanes, and install stormwater infrastructure and traffic signals.
As part of that planning, ongoing communication with stakeholders, including Enbridge, occurred, beginning nine years earlier, when the project was in its infancy.
A Jan. 7, 2022, letter to Enbridge from the county provides a play-by-play of planning events that it argues “clearly demonstrates that (Enbridge) was well aware of the county’s project and the many opportunities (Enbridge) had to notify the county of the proposed changes to the gas main classification that would have then provided the county with the opportunity to review and consider the potential impacts to our intersection project.”
In a September 2021 report to council, staff indicated that Enbridge reclassified the main as vital in the spring of 2021, following its merger with Union Gas. Yet, the county was never notified of this change until after construction had begun.
“The requirements for working around vital mains include increased frequency of test pits to verify pipeline location and depth, requirement for third-party observation by an Enbridge inspector during construction, and restrictions on mechanical excavation and vibratory construction equipment adjacent to and over the pipeline,” staff explained in the September 2021 report. “Had the vital main been identified in the design and tendering stage, the county could have incorporated these restrictions into the construction tender and adjusted the schedule and budget accordingly.”
County staff will review the claim with Enbridge and warned council that they will require “significant time” to come to a resolution and additional costs are anticipated.
But they are confident in a positive outcome.
“The process includes continued negotiations, and if we are unable to resolve the matter, it could lead to a potential formal mediation or a claim filed in provincial court,” Christian Meile, the county's director of transportation and engineering, wrote in an email. “This type of dispute with a utility is a rare occurrence, however, the county has been successful in the past with respect to recovering costs.”
Enbridge spokesperson Leanne McNaughton indicated that the utility plans “to review the specific demands and allegations in that claim once it is received."
“We are not in a position to comment regarding the specifics of the claim at this time, and it would be inappropriate to speculate," she added.
