Public Works Minister Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch disclosed today that “works will commence tomorrow, Saturday, November 17th” on the next phase of Government’s Rehabilitation Plan for King’s Wharf.

In a Ministerial Statement to update MPs on the Government’s Rehabilitation Plan for King’s Wharf in Dockyard, Colonel Burch also told MPs that final costs for this phase will be $15 Million cheaper than anticipated in the original budget.

He also disclosed that Bermudian Civil Engineer, Ms Carmen Trott “has been seconded to the Ministry” to head up the project as Project Manager.

“The original budget for these works was $20 Million but with savings on the piles and the use of Precast slabs, our actual target price is in the region of $15 Million including contingencies.,” said Colonel Burch.

“I am particularly pleased to announce that the project manager and director for this project is young Bermudian Civil Engineer, Ms Carmen Trott.

“She was a trainee engineer with the Ministry a decade ago and subsequently left for the private sector. Since January of this year Carmen has been seconded to the Ministry and will oversee the project to conclusion.

“Works will commence tomorrow, Saturday November 17 and will rapidly gain speed as we move quickly to meet this critical time line.”

From a historical perspective, he noted that the Royal Naval Dockyard has “two deep-water cruise berths: King’s Wharf and Heritage Wharf.

King’s Wharf the older of the two is a 300 foot, by 80 foot suspended deck structure supporting the cruise ship terminal buildings. The main structure comprises a structural steel frame encased in reinforced concrete, with reinforced concrete slabs – constructed in 1987 at a cost of 9 Million dollars,” he said.

“In 2014 a comprehensive inspection was conducted by the UK firm Mott Macdonaldregarding the state of Kings Wharf. Deck problems and other deficiencies wereclearly identified. At that time the cost of fixing the wharf and terminal building was estimated at more than 20M. In spite of the production of a 77 page report and recommendations – nothing was done.”

Three years later he said the Ministry “commissioned an underwater inspection of 27 structures across the Island as part of a wider plan to investigate the state of our infrastructure,” he said.

“The Kings Wharf was included and the inspection showed obvious signs of additional structural problems that needed further investigation. A
concrete expert, Stantec of Halifax, Nova Scotia was hired to evaluate the state of the actual Concrete, Rebars and recommend the best course of action.
 
“The conclusion was that 80 percent of the rebars were deliminated, concrete was  cracking, and layers were separating. The visual inspection and laboratory testing showed that the actual concrete and rebar could not be salvaged. Additionally, since the building is sitting on the deck Slabs, it too will have to be demolished and rebuilt,” said Colonel Burch.
 
“The net result is the Building and Deck of Kings Wharf need to be completely rebuilt. The Piles, however, are in good condition – so they will be reused.
 
“There is no immediate concerns for ships berthing as the lateral capacity of the pier is not compromised,” he added.
 
Now that the 2018 cruise ship season is about to end, he said: “Obviously construction needs to occur during the off -season from November 2018
to April 2019.”
 
With that in mind, he said: “The Ministry initiated an accelerated repair/replacement program in order to meet the critical deadline of April 2019. The window of opportunity to construct the new deck is from mid-November 2018 to March of 2019 during the non-cruise ship season.
 
“In order to complete the project in such a short window, and to avoid potential delays due to the current high demand for concrete on island, a method of
precast concrete slabs and beams will be utilized for 85% of the works,” said the Minister.
 
“Using precast concrete will also increase the lifespan of the work as low reactivity aggregates and fly ash (commonly used in Europe and North America, but not Bermuda) will be added to the mix to minimise corrosion of the reinforcing steel
and preserving the concrete.
 
“In order for the slabs to be available this month, the precast company needed to be contracted by the end of August. Due to this accelerated timeframe, the Department recommended Precast Systems, Inc. ofNew Jersey. They had previously supplied 25 concrete slabs to create a temporary pedestrian walkway atop the compromised deck at King’s Wharf earlier this year following a competitive bidding process.
 
“The Department also performed due diligence by inspecting the company’s processing plant in March this year, and confirmed the necessary quality control systems were in place and the slabs arrived on time and were of a very high quality.”
 
“Having already gone through a competitive bidding process the Department entered into direct negotiations with Precast Systems for the supply of
the deck slabs & beams for the complete refurbishment project.”
 
At that point he said: “The Ministry then explored ways to transport the slabs and associated supplies to the island to meet the very tight timelines. An agreement was struck with Bermuda International Shipping to transport a third of the supplies on three weekly sailings.
 
“Once the cargo ship has been unloaded on Hamilton Docks and left the port; a barge will come alongside to collect the supplies, for transport to Dockyard, thereby avoiding unnecessary wear and tear on the roads.”
 
In January 2019, he said: “The remaining two thirds of the shipment, which includes the slabs, will be transported to Bermuda on a cargo ship chartered
specifically for this purpose and unloaded directly in the Royal Naval Dockyard at the wharf adjacent to the cement silos. This proposed approach meets the demands of the construction schedule and results in a savings of approximately $400,000 in transportation costs alone.”
 
During the mont of August, he said: “Experienced contracting companies were invited to bid on the project to demolish the existing building and concrete deck, and construct the new deck. The construction of a replacement deck will be done using the precast concrete beams and slabs along with contractor supplied in-situ concrete on to the existing steel piles.”
 
The Minister also said that “six local companies an done overseas company expressed interest in bidding on the project, however, only 2 local companies and the overseas one submitted bids.
 
“The lowest bidder, at $2.97 million dollars, a Bermudian company, was awarded the contract in September,” said Colonel Burch.
 
To expand the life expectancy of the wharf, he said a number of other actions will be implemented during the construction process and that “usually for long term corrosion protection one of the following elements would be included in the design – Fly Ash, Cathodic Protection, Corrosion Inhibitor and Low reactivity aggregates.
 
“In this case we are using ALL of those,” said Col Burch, including:
  • Strict quality control will be employed on and off site by an Independent lab
  • Top of the line 6,000 psi concrete will be used
  • Corrosion inhibitor will be added to the concrete to make sure we will get the most durable concrete for our harsh environment
  • Cathodic protection will be added in critical locations to make sure we get a lifespan of at least 75 years for this new infrastructure
  • The new wharf, will be built with proper loading to accommodate the next generation of cruise ships.
The Minister also noted that there is a possibility that the replacement terminal “will not be fully completed by the start of the 2019 cruise ship season – a contingency plan to accommodate this eventuality is in place that will not delay the start of the cruise ship season.”
 
But he said: “The original budget for these works was $20 Million but with savings on the piles and the use of Precast slabs, our actual target price is in the region of $15 Million including contingencies.”
 
In any case, work on the next phase begins tomorrow and during Parliamentary Questions in the House today, Colonel Burch said he did not have a problem saying the contract was awarded to Crisson Construction Limited.
Mr. Speaker, finally, I am particularly pleased to announce that the project manager and director for this project is young Bermudian Civil Engineer, Ms. Carmen Trott. She was a trainee engineer with the Ministry a decade ago and subsequently left for the private sector. Since January of this year Carmen has been seconded to the Ministry and will oversee the project to conclusion.Works will commence tomorrow, Saturday November 17 and will rapidly gain speed as we move quickly to meet this critical time line