The discovery of human remains and a midden has substantially added to the cost of replacing the Craigflower bridge.
Saanich councillors will be asked Monday to boost the bridge replacement project’s budget for archeological services more than threefold to $400,000.
“I don’t think council will have any choice,” Mayor Frank Leonard said. “It’s not an optional part of an excavation project nowadays.”
Before the start of bridge replacement work, Saanich had budgeted $120,000 plus a contingency for archeological work and awarded the contract to Golder Associates.
But it has become evident more will have to be spent, a staff report says.
“Perhaps they were a bit optimistic with the budget in the first place because certainly there was an expectation we would come across remains,” Leonard said.
“That’s why we were so cautious with the excavation. In fact, a lot of it was done by hand.”
After the archeological contract was awarded, B.C. Hydro discovered human remains while placing utility poles for the project, the staff report says. It was decided that as much of the archeological work as possible should be done in advance of construction.
To date, two intact burials and four partial skeletons have been uncovered.
With about 30 per cent of the midden now processed, it has become clear the scope of the original contract must be expanded, the report says, adding that the increase in costs can be made without an increase in the overall project budget of nearly $16 million.
“It [the cost overrun] is a trend we don’t want repeated in other parts of the budget,” Leonard said. “This amount can be accommodated because — although as a percentage it’s high — as part of the total it’s not.”
The bridge was closed to vehicle traffic Wednesday; replacing it is expected to take eight months.
