OGRA Partners with RCCAO and MTO for Wellington County Bridges Study

OAKVILLE, Ontario, May 4, 2012 /Canada NewsWire/ - The Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) has partnered with the Residential & Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) and the Ministry of Transportation to undertake the Wellington County Bridges Study.

This pilot study will determine the bridge infrastructure needs of Wellington County and its constituent municipalities and assess the potential to use alternative delivery methods. MTO has provided $50,000 in funding with the balance of the $100,000 study being funded by RCCAO and OGRA.

The work will be phased with the first three stages relating to the key steps in developing a bridge asset management plan. Phase 4 will consider alternative delivery options such as bridge bundling and phase 5 will include conclusions and recommendations. A Project Team will be organized with representation from the RCCAO, OGRA, MTO and Wellington County. The final report will be made available to OGRA members.

OGRA President Alan Korell is eager to begin this project.

"To partner with a respectable organization such as RCCAO and to have the support of MTO enables us to bring our shared expertise and experience to the table. This study will benefit Ontario municipalities by providing guidance on how they can use innovative delivery approaches to reduce their long term bridge renewal costs."

"We need to look at new ways to help municipalities maintain, rehabilitate and replace their bridges. This study follows on other OGRA efforts such as Municipal DataWorks, ongoing training and advocacy work in support of Ontario municipalities" said Joe Tiernay, OGRA Executive Director.

Andy Manahan, RCCAO's Executive Director, feels that

"The Wellington County Bridges Study supports the goal of the province's long-term 'Building Together' strategy to use innovative approaches to fund infrastructure improvements. RCCAO is particularly pleased that analytical methods will be used to compare traditional approaches with AFP and bundling approaches for the rehabilitation and maintenance of municipal bridge structures."

The mandate of the Ontario Good Roads Association is to represent the infrastructure interests of municipalities through advocacy, consultation, training and the delivery of identified services.

For more information, please visit ogra.org.