Did you almost float away? With so many days of rain this spring and early summer, I would not be surprised if you felt like it was time to build an ark when I know you would rather be building highways.
While farmers love getting rain – especially after dry years – to boost their productivity, we know that in heavy construction, you find yourself in the opposite position. Days of rain mean you can’t be as productive as you would be during a string of sunny or overcast days. That puts you behind on your progress as your completion date on your highway project creeps closer.
I am making sure the government understands the ripple effect of a delay caused by days of rain. While you are trying to plan carefully, find efficiency and manage your resources among the rain, I know your costs start adding up. With employees waiting around in hotel rooms for the intense rain to pass (sometimes over long weekends and holidays), and traffic lights and equipment waiting to be installed, with your teams being unable to do so, I know this is just the tip of the iceberg.
My job is to advocate for you. With the provincial election coming this fall, we can’t afford to wait to see what the Ministry of Highways might offer in this situation. Pushing for this conversation now puts us in a better position than if we waited until after the election, when we are in November.
I requested an in-person meeting in mid-July to discuss the requests our association has on behalf of the whole industry. In advance of that meeting, I requested that the ministry grant an extension on some project completion dates without imposing penalties on contractors to help contractors make up for lost time.
For extreme cases, I requested an extension of up to 90 days. For all other projects, I requested 30 to 60 days. Exactly how long each project’s completion would be delayed by would be negotiated between the contractor and the ministry. This is a recommendation I have requested be put into policy to set a precedent for future extreme weather-related delays.
I pointed out that these have been unforeseen weather challenges, and that a practical and compassionate approach to managing project timelines this season would provide you much needed flexibility to complete projects to the required standards without compromising safety or quality. Allowing for additional time would enable you to plan more effectively around future unpredictable weather patterns, ensuring your work can proceed smoothly during periods of favourable conditions.
I asked the ministry to suspend cold weather paving restrictions in October and to waive the 14-day requirement for preliminary notice for weather related claims for 2024.
Another request I made was for the ministry to prorate site occupancy based on an agreed percentage. This would mean that we arrive at a percentage using the number of rainy days that are more than typical weather for the season. Then, the site occupancy bid days would be increased by that percentage.
Then there is the Contractor Performance Evaluation guide. It is time for adjustments to be made to the guide and the scoring system. I have reviewed it closely and proposed a series of changes to the wording to clarify what is being stated. I am also monitoring the impact of weather delays on the current construction season’s budget, as well as any potential impact on next year’s budget if there is a significant amount of carry-over due to the weather delays. Each opportunity I get, I raise the industry’s capacity.
It would great if the fall tenders could be released earlier to give contractors some certainty of work. This being an election year, I know there is valuable time lost when the writ drops, which is expected to happen in September. The election is to be held on or before Oct. 28, 2024 (this is also another reason why we as an association persist in asking the ministry to release infrastructure timelines that are at least three years into the future).
Members of the SHCA’s board joined me for that meeting. So far, what we heard is that ministry officials would like to monitor progress on projects as well as the weather. They also shared that currently, they are overbudget on projects, but that is on tendered work, not awarded, so we will see how it all sorts out in time. While we were unable to secure commitments on that day, I provided our written recommendations to the ministry for future consideration and discussion. We will meet with ministry officials again this month to discuss this further. I will keep you up to date on those developments as I have more to share.
