WHEREAS the RM of Excelsior No. 166 has a significant amount of wooden bridge structures within its boundaries that range in condition from excellent to desperately needing repair or replacement;

WHEREAS Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is currently divesting themselves of the former Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act (PFRA) Community Pasture Program (CPP) irrigation projects in the RM;

WHEREAS when the transferring of the irrigation projects is completed the RM will be responsible for the ownership and maintenance of an additional 14 bridges which gives the RM a total of 30 wooden structural assets to manage;

WHEREAS the cost of maintenance and replacement of bridges is a budgetary concern a clear span bridge can be installed for as little as one third of the cost of a regular bridge.

BE IT RESOLVED that the SARM engineers look into approving the use of clear span bridges.

Response from SARM Municipal Bridge Services:

A clear span bridge is defined as a bridge structure that completely crosses the watercourse without altering the stream bed or bank; this means the bridge crosses the watercourse in a single span without the use of intermediate/pier supports.

Where the specific site conditions allow it, SARM Municipal Bridge Services prefers clear span bridges as they do not result in the loss of fish habitat or the alteration of natural watercourse processes that can result from the installation of pier supports.  However, clear span bridges in comparison to multiple span bridges of similar length do not result in the significant cost savings mentioned in this resolution.