For the second time, the City of Victoria is sending out the call for companies to prequalify for the contract to demolish the Johnson Street Bridge.
The first call came in December 2009.
At that time, roughly a dozen companies pre-qualified to demolish both the bridge’s rail and traffic span.
Since that time, the scope of the work has changed, therefore requiring a new pre-qualification process.
“The same firms that responded to that have been invited to respond to this one,” said project director Mike Lai, adding several were locally based.
The city’s latest request for offers only includes demolishing the rail bridge, as well as moving some underwater utility lines. That means deconstructing the roughly 500-tonne steel rail span and tower, as well as the 550-tonne concrete counterweight.
“Because of the age of the bridge, trying to go back to the blueprints in 1924 is a bit of a challenge,” Lai said. “We’re anticipating having a bit more accurate information by the time a call for tenders goes out.”
The city aims to have the rail bridge demolished by the end of the year.
rholmen@vicnews.com
