Île-aux-Tourtes bridge: the Autorité des marchés publics draws up a poor assessment

Deficiencies in the management and planning of contracts, lack of documentation, communication problems, failure to comply with recommendations - in short, the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) has drawn up a bleak picture of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTSM) contract management in the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge case.

In its latest report, published on Wednesday, the AMP highlighted a series of shortcomings in the management and planning of contracts for the maintenance and upkeep of the current structure of the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge.

As a result, MTSM was unable to carry out the necessary work in a timely manner. 

According to the report, the MTSM ignored some 35 notices indicating that the construction contractor, Roxboro Excavation Inc. was not complying with the manufacturer's recommendations, particularly with regard to mortar preparation.

Also according to the AMP report, on May 8, 2020, the Ministère gave the contractor the mandate to carry out maintenance work. Although the specifications called for the use of 400 liters of cementitious mortar, the AMP's examination revealed that the work was not carried out as required.

"However, from the very first preparation work, the quantity of mortar used reached 4,000 liters. Due to issues with the mortar preparation used, the 4,000 liters spread had to be removed. In all, 8,000 liters were needed to complete the work, resulting in an additional expenditure of $4.938 million, excluding the cost of the mortar," reads the 130-page document.

Among the other shortcomings noted by the AMP in the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge file are the lack of visits by the MTSM to the worksite, the lack of communication between the various stakeholders, the disappearance and non-reading of certain e-mails, the unavailability of certain documents, and more.

Roxboro Excavation Inc. is part of the consortium formed by Dragados Canada Inc. Roxboro Excavation Inc. and Construction DeMathieu Bard (CDB) Inc. and was awarded the contract to build the new infrastructure, scheduled for partial inauguration in 2026.

The full report is available at https://amp.quebec.