Mismanaged City of Toronto Infrastructure Projects

[nfitz]

Don’t they usually go to the lowest qualified bid so they look at past history

They do - but past performance isn't necessarily a measure of current or future capabilities.

Also it's pass/fail. If you get through the competence screening (which does little to stop outright lying on questions), then it's typically 100% on price, for construction work.

 

[DSC]

Don’t they usually go to the lowest qualified bid so they look at past history

By law they have to go to lowest qualified bidder but 'qualified' means they meet the requirements in bid document and not that they are competent! The City are VERY slow (probably inevitably) to ban companies from bidding unless the REALLY f-up on an earlier contract or there is fraud. Poor performance or slowness seldom seems to result in being banned from bidding.

 

[nfitz]

By law they have to go to lowest qualified bidder but 'qualified' means they meet the requirements in bid document and not that they are competent! The City are VERY slow (probably inevitably) to ban companies from bidding unless the REALLY f-up on an earlier contract or there is fraud. Poor performance or slowness seldom seems to result in being banned from bidding.

By law ... hard to say. They have to follow their own published procedures, and if they fail to do, they are liable for damages to the lowest bidder that passed the qualification (if competent or not!).

 

[Blovertis]

This rebuild is turning into the Crosstown LRT of pedestrian bridges.

 

[rbt]

This rebuild is turning into the Crosstown LRT of pedestrian bridges.
View attachment 512030

That timeline was out of date shortly after demolition started: They found an unmapped sewer line along Rosedale Valley Road.

Glen Road Pedestrian Bridge & Tunnel Replacement

On Sunday, November 24, between 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. the city’s contractor will be working to complete railing installation on the Glen Road Pedestrian Bridge across the Rosedale Valley Ravine. There will be no travel impacts during this time. The City of Toronto is replacing the Glen Road...

www.toronto.ca

Stage 1 (March 7, 2022 to December 2023)​

• Removal of City owned trees – Completed
• Removal of the entire bridge structure – Completed
• Construction of new bridge foundations – Ongoing
• Removal of the north side of the tunnel under Bloor Street East – Completed
• Reconstruction of the north side of the tunnel under Bloor Street East – Completed
• Construction of the new barrier free access path from north side of Bloor Street East – Ongoing
• Streetscape work at north end of bridge
• Installation of new electrical connections for lighting on the bridge
• Construction of new bridge superstructure

Stage 2 (December 2023 to Summer 2024)​

• Construction of new bridge deck
• Further removal of City owned trees
• Removal and reconstruction of the south side of tunnel under Bloor Street East
• Installation of new electrical for lighting in the tunnel
• Installation of new streetscaping elements in the public space south end of the tunnel

 

[Northern Light]

This rebuild is turning into the Crosstown LRT of pedestrian bridges.
View attachment 512030

@rbt is on point above.

But I would direct you to my post for one issue, among many here.

Glen Road Pedestrian Bridge (Morley Callaghan Bridge)

This bridge is being replaced in 2019/2020. Details at: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2017/pb/bgrd/backgroundfile-109541.pdf • Toronto Preservation Board – Fall 2017 • Finalize Environmental Study Report; − 45-day Public Review Period (Winter 2017) • Detailed Design – 2018 / 2019 −...

urbantoronto.ca

This is a troubled project, and I have questions.

 

[JBR]

How about Kingston/Morningside rebuilding of the sidewalks and curbs that’s been going on for months and 2 lanes of traffic blocked east and west…

 

[nfitz]

How about Kingston/Morningside rebuilding of the sidewalks and curbs that’s been going on for months and 2 lanes of traffic blocked east and west…

Just sidewalks and curbs? No watermain or gas lines?

 

[pmacpherson68]

How about Eglinton avenue rebuild once the other screw up LRT is finally done? If it takes the city a year to build new sidewalks and bike lanes along a relatively short stretch of Bloor, how bloody long is it going to take them to do the whole of Eglinton from Laird in the East all the way to Keele in the west?

I'll be long gone and buried by the time its ever done...

 

[Amare]

How about Eglinton avenue rebuild once the other screw up LRT is finally done? If it takes the city a year to build new sidewalks and bike lanes along a relatively short stretch of Bloor, how bloody long is it going to take them to do the whole of Eglinton from Laird in the East all the way to Keele in the west?

I'll be long gone and buried by the time its ever done...

The city doesnt have enough funds to rebuild the entire stretch of Eglinton where the LRT is being constructed. For the most part it's only the areas around the intersections which are being rebuilt, until the day the city finds money to rebuild the rest of the stretches in between.

So needless to say we wont be seeing anything done in this decade at the minimum.

 

[Northern Light]

How about Eglinton avenue rebuild once the other screw up LRT is finally done? If it takes the city a year to build new sidewalks and bike lanes along a relatively short stretch of Bloor, how bloody long is it going to take them to do the whole of Eglinton from Laird in the East all the way to Keele in the west?

I'll be long gone and buried by the time its ever done...

The city doesnt have enough funds to rebuild the entire stretch of Eglinton where the LRT is being constructed. For the most part it's only the areas around the intersections which are being rebuilt, until the day the city finds money to rebuild the rest of the stretches in between.

So needless to say we wont be seeing anything done in this decade at the minimum.

For clarity, Metrolinx is doing the work in/around stations, on the basis that these are areas they dug up, so they will rebuild them the way the City asked for............

But they are not responsible for the in-between bits.

FWIW, this is nowhere near the balance of the Eglinton Connect commitments, but a good chunk should be delivered in 2024:

The rest................the vast majority of the needed work..........some 90M..........is unfunded.......but place holdered (subject to funding)........from 2027 - 2032

 

[pmacpherson68]

The city doesnt have enough funds to rebuild the entire stretch of Eglinton where the LRT is being constructed. For the most part it's only the areas around the intersections which are being rebuilt, until the day the city finds money to rebuild the rest of the stretches in between.

So needless to say we wont be seeing anything done in this decade at the minimum.

Wow... I didnt think my statement could be any worse, but stretching it out a decade exceeds my worse expectations... (and they are already pretty low)

I honestly think that Toronto should just give up on all new infrastructure projects, no money, no time, no competency.

 

[pmacpherson68]

For clarity, Metrolinx is doing the work in/around stations, on the basis that these are areas they dug up, so they will rebuild them the way the City asked for............

But they are not responsible for the in-between bits.

FWIW, this is nowhere near the balance of the Eglinton Connect commitments, but a good chunk should be delivered in 2024:

View attachment 512305

The rest................the vast majority of the needed work..........some 90M..........is unfunded.......but place holdered (subject to funding)........from 2027 - 2032

View attachment 512306

and if its 90M in today's dollars, imagine the cost overages over the next 10 years - it will end up costing us 500M I bet.

 

[Towered]

Wow... I didnt think my statement could be any worse, but stretching it out a decade exceeds my worse expectations... (and they are already pretty low)

I honestly think that Toronto should just give up on all new infrastructure projects, no money, no time, no competency.

I agree - it's a lovely 'ol circle jerk going on at city hall. All these grand plans and visions are very nice, but if they can't be delivered in an acceptable time frame, spare us the torment, or get serious about implementing new revenue tools to enable timely delivery of said transformative projects. Don't show us fancy renders only to toss them on a dusty shelf for a decade plus.

Shit or get off the pot.

 

[pmacpherson68]

... and for the price of 12 or 14 billion, I'm guessing the latter when all is said and done, we'll end up with the shittiest looking Eglinton avenue for the next 10 years... just wow.