The Heavy Construction Association is contesting how the County of Essex awarded a contract for a massive project along County Roads 42 and 43. The association has asked for a judicial review, alleging the process used to pick the contractor was not fully transparent. It also alleges the county used a "limited tendering option."
The project, which will take place in five phases, is the single largest undertaking by the county and could take five to seven years to complete. It will include:
- New roundabouts
- Bike lanes
- Sidewalks
- Multi-use trails along County Roads 42 and 43 in Tecumseh and Lakeshore
This will improve traffic capacity along a busy stretch of road connecting Windsor to Lakeshore.
Windsor Star reported that Phase One of the project, which has escalated in cost from $18.5 million to $29 million, has already been awarded through a limited tendering process.
"It's not about who got the job, it's about the process that we felt was violated in awarding this job and single sourcing it to somebody. It should have been retendered with a new estimated value. Then they would have got all kinds of bids. We feel that the rest of our members, the rest of our industry, had not been given a fair opportunity to bid the job based on changes in the tender."
Association Executive Director | Jim Lyons
In a written statement, the county said it pursued limited tendering after receiving no bids. Officials said they ensured the county's procurement policy was followed and that the matter was discussed publicly before awarding the contract to Piera Con Enterprises Inc., which is a member of the construction association.
The county issued a request for tenders in May for the first phase of the project to enhance and widen County Road 42 and County Road 43.
According to Blackburn News, a report to the county councillors said that ultimately no bidders came forward, so it directly approached contractors to negotiate the costs without putting the project up for tender again.
The report dated September 7th stated that the "administration had discussions with two potential contractors to gain an understanding of whether or not limited tender is advisable in this situation. Only one of the contractors approached can actually commit to undertake the project at this time should the county proceed with a limited tendering process and resulting contract."
In a statement to WindsorNewsToday from last week, the County of Essex confirmed it used limited tendering but otherwise followed proper procedure in awarding the contract.
"The County of Essex pursued limited tendering, in full compliance with its Procurement Policy, after receiving no bids on the County Road 42/43 project after a request for tenders in the spring. This issue was the subject of an extensive report and discussions at a public meeting of County Council on September 7. The County considered putting the project on hold but believed after careful analysis that the project was too vital to delay. Any delay could jeopardize the success of the new battery plant in Windsor as well as the work underway for a new regional hospital. After ensuring its Procurement Policy was followed, and after reporting on the matter publicly, the county awarded the contract to Piera Con Enterprises Inc."
Statement from the County of Essex
Canada Today states that the County has declined further comment since the matter is before the courts now.
"They also extended the construction contract by three to five months. In our opinion, they had plenty of time to sit down and talk about how they could have avoided paying a lot more for a project than they probably could have done if they had bid it competitively. The project isn't a $29 million job unless they added all kinds of work. But we wouldn't know because they never invited any of us to offer it. We don't even know what the drawings look like, but effectively it's the same scope of work as what we know."
Association Executive Director | Jim Lyons
The Heavy Construction Association of Windsor is a membership association of contractors and related suppliers whose work spans the road, sewer and water supply sectors of the construction industry.
DataBid was reporting on this project - Essex County Various County Roads Reconstruction (0037041222)
