Item - 2020.IE13.3

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the City to enter into a Project Delivery Agreement with Waterfront Toronto (the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation) for the completion of the design, cost estimate and traffic impact assessment for Lake Shore Boulevard East including a new bridge over the Don River on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure and Development Services and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

2. City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure and Development Services to execute this Project Delivery Agreement on behalf of the City.

This report seeks City Council authority for staff to enter into a Project Delivery Agreement with Waterfront Toronto for the purpose of designing future infrastructure that is overlapping between the Port Lands Flood Protection project and Gardiner Strategic Rehabilitation Plan. Specifically, Waterfront Toronto would undertake detailed design work, and prepare a Class B cost estimate and traffic impact assessment for a new Lake Shore Boulevard Bridge over the Don River, as well as a reconstructed Lake Shore Boulevard East, from approximately Don Roadway to Logan Avenue.

The Port Lands Flood Protection project will provide permanent flood protection for approximately 290 hectares or 715 acres of land through the creation of a new, naturalized mouth of the Don River and other significant flood protection measures (e.g., river valley, wetlands, natural habitat, sediment management facility and other structures). In addition, the project will deliver the essential municipal services (e.g., roads, bridges, sewers, water supply, etc.) that must be undertaken concurrently with the flood protection works for technical and logistical reasons.

In order to accommodate the widening of the Don River mouth for permanent flood protection, the existing Lake Shore Boulevard Bridge over the Don River needs to be lengthened from two bays to four, and raised to accommodate flow discharges during flooding events. To implement the Gardiner East EA and Gardiner Strategic Rehabilitation Plan, the Bridge must also be widened in order to accommodate required cycling and public realm elements. Furthermore, the existing bridge deck and girders are close to the end of their useful service lives and need to be replaced and/or extensively refurbished.

City staff, in consultation with Waterfront Toronto have concluded that the most efficient and practical approach to construction is to build a new bridge in a single project that combines the overlapping scope of the two initiatives. Additionally, City and Waterfront Toronto staff have concluded that the project should also address the related streetscape, public realm and cycling infrastructure that has been conceptualized in the Lake Shore Boulevard East Public Realm Vision, Phasing and Implementation Plan.

Although the project could be constructed by either the City or Waterfront Toronto, City and Waterfront Toronto staff are of the preliminary view that construction should be led by Waterfront Toronto. This view will however be subject to additional analysis that will be done as part of the design, cost estimate and traffic impact assessment work described in this report.

The implementation of a single/integrated project would help both projects achieve cost efficiencies by utilizing one construction crew and reduce "throw away" costs. Throw away costs would include multiple construction mobilizations and demobilizations, the temporary underpinning of Gardiner support structures and the reconstruction and widening of the newly lengthened bridge spans in order to accommodate Gardiner East EA road widths and public realm aspects. Costs associated with the increased safety risks under the scenario of implementing the projects separately would also be significantly reduced. A comprehensive list of reasons for constructing a new Lake Shore Boulevard East bridge in a single project that combines the overlapping and related scope of the two initiatives is provided in the Comments section of this report.

The proposed Project Delivery Agreement recommended in this report would allow Waterfront Toronto to undertake the development of a detailed design, including a Class B cost estimate, implementation phasing plan and traffic impact assessment. A second Project Delivery Agreement would be required for construction, should additional analysis lead to the conclusion that the project would be best implemented by Waterfront Toronto.

Funds for the implementation of the final design would be identified in a future Transportation Capital Budget submission. In addition, if applicable, staff would seek additional authority for a Project Delivery Agreement with Waterfront Toronto for the construction phase of the project.