Ontario awards new highway construction contract as engineer strike continues
Global News
The government has announced another contract as part of its work to build the Bradford Bypass north of Toronto. Public engineers say strike action will slow it down.
The Ford government has awarded a new contract to manage the construction part of the Bradford Bypass, which will connect two highways north of Toronto, as striking engineers withdraw labour from the route.
The project is one of two highway projects the Progressive Conservatives put at the heart of their 2022 re-election bid, promising billions of dollars in new roadways as a solution to gridlock.
On Monday, the transportation minister announced a contract had been agreed to manage construction of the western portion of the Bradford Bypass expressway. Early work and preparations on the project, including the construction of a new bridge, have been ongoing for some time.
“We are well underway,” Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said, announcing the contract.
“You’ll see heavy construction on that Bradford Bypass piece very soon but a lot of the work to enable it has continued. We are full steam ahead in building the Bradford Bypass.”
Miller/Brennan has been awarded the contract to manage construction on the western portion. Earlier this year, the design contract for the 6.5-kilometre route was awarded to AECOM.
While the government announced a new contract for the route, the engineers who manage key parts of the design and construction are withdrawing their service.
On Monday, as part of an ongoing contract dispute with the government, the Professional Engineers Government of Ontario union confirmed it had removed its major technical engineers from the Bradford Bypass and Highway 413.
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