Rivers Dam, Melita bridge projects go to tender

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This article was published 03/07/2024 (525 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial government has tenders out for two significant infrastructure projects in Westman right now — one to continue the $40-million upgrade of the Rivers Dam at Lake Wahtopanah and another to replace a bridge crossing the Souris River on Highway 3 near Melita.

Major work on the Rivers Dam will come one year after the province undertook the first stage of the rehabilitation project.

In 2020, the dam held up after a massive rainstorm led to 12,000 cubic feet of water per second flowed through the 64-year-old structure.

That amount was far above the previously recorded high of 4,500 cubic feet per second, leading to the province fearing for months that it would give way and send flows rushing downstream on the Little Saskatchewan River, which would then enter the Assiniboine River as it heads toward Brandon.

Last July, former infrastructure minister Doyle Piwiniuk announced the first phase of work to bring the dam up to modern standards had started at a cost of around $5.5 million, with a further $34 million in work on the dam’s concrete spillway and embankment to come in spring 2024.

On June 28, Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure issued a tender for that work.

It will include, among other items:

• Installing new foundations upstream from the spillway.

• Raising the height of the embankments, wingwalls and spillway walls.

• Constructing new concrete walls and slabs.

• Installing new sealant along joints.

• Removing some existing elements.

The province’s tender states that all work relating to raising the height of the dam must be complete by Sept. 15, 2025, with all remaining work finished by March 5, 2027. Replacing vegetation at the dam site and restoring the area must be finished by July 15, 2027.

Contractors will not be allowed to work in the water between April 1 and June 30 and the dam’s spillway must not be obstructed by work between March 5 and Oct. 15 each year.

Last year, the province also announced in a media release that it was going to completely replace a bridge on Highway 3 near Melita and add flood protection to a bridge on Highway 2 near Wawanesa, both crossing the Souris River.

The former was expected to cost $19.5 million and the latter $1.7 million.

While the Wawanesa bridge does not appear to have been tendered yet, the Melita bridge tender went out June 26.

The existing bridge was built in 1970. Piwniuk said in a release last year that it had outlived its useful lifespan after significant flood events and the new bridge would be more resilient to future flooding.

The new bridge will be three spans long once built, made from steel and concrete. All work taking place in the river stream must be complete by March 15, 2025, all structural works by Sept. 30, 2025 and final restoration of the site by Nov. 30, 2025.

Demolition of the existing bridge must happen either before May 1 or after Aug. 31 to avoid disturbing nesting barn swallows.

The winning contractor must ensure adequate drainage to avoid creating pools of water, which could lure the provincially endangered Great Plains toad to the project area.

During construction, a temporary shoo-fly bridge will be installed to keep traffic flowing.

Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor’s office did not respond to a request for a progress update on these projects, as well as the construction of a new dam near Wawanesa on the Souris River that a design was commissioned for last year.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

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