A deal struck between Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) town councillors and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) advances the twinning of the Garden City Skyway.
The project entails the construction of a new, four-lane bridge. Once complete, the 2.2-kilometre bridge will carry Toronto-bound traffic over the Welland Canal. Following the new bridge construction, work will begin to rehabilitate the existing bridge.
In the deal between the MTO and NOTL, it stipulates the ministry will pay the entire cost of the design, construction and inspection of the work.
“The Garden City Skway bridge twinning is another milestone in the province’s plan to tackle gridlock on a major trade corridor and drive economic growth in the face of U.S. tariffs. Approximately 100,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day,” said Tanya Blazina, senior media relations with the MTO.
Once the new bridge is built and the existing bridge is rehabilitated, there will be expanded bridge capacity with four lanes in each direction, easing congestion along this corridor. Municipal roads will be realigned and reconstructed to accommodate the new highway right-of-way and bridge structure.
The project is being delivered in partnership with Infrastructure Ontario as a Progressive Design-Build (PDB). Key features of a PDB model include the opportunity for greater collaboration between the project owner, the successful bidder, project partners and communities.
The scope of work includes:
- Construction of a 2.2-kilometre twin Garden City Skyway bridge connecting St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake.
- Widening the QEW on approaches to the new bridge.
- Realignment of local roads.
- Construction of pier protection systems, retaining walls and stormwater management ponds.
- Relocation of affected utilities.
Upon completion of the bridge, traffic from the existing bridge will be temporarily switched onto the newly constructed bridge to allow for rehabilitation of the existing Garden City Skyway bridge (under a separate contract).
The Request for Proposals (RFP) for teams to submit bids for this project closed Dec. 20, 2024.
Following the process, teams were shortlisted and invited to respond to an RFP in March 2024. Among them are: Garden City Connectors, Peter Kiewit Sons ULC, Skyway Bridging Partners and SkyTwin Partners.
Proposals will be evaluated by Infrastructure Ontario and the MTO with the successful proponent for the development phase expected to be announced soon. They will work collaboratively with IO and the MTO to finalize the project agreement and complete the detailed design. Once the development phase is completed, IO and MTO will have the option to enter into a project agreement for the construction of the new bridge with the successful team.
