‘No significant progress’ made in arbitration over fixing Thunderbird Viaduct, city says

City hall says there has been “no recent significant progress” in arbitration with Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CPKS) over upgrading the Thunderbird Viaduct, which means no major repairs can occur yet and costs continue to increase.

City administration provided an update about arbitration and general repairs to the Fourth Avenue Southwest bridge during the April 22 regular council meeting. 

The report said city hall closed the bridge temporarily on March 19 so crews could apply cold mix asphalt to the many potholes dotting the structure. The municipality expects to use hot mix once it becomes available and the city can procure it.

The reconstruction of the Thunderbird Viaduct “remains a significant priority” for city administration, based on the department of engineering services’ 2024 capital budget overview, the document continued. However, “progress on this project is contingent on concluding arbitration.” 

City administration has budgeted $27,604,800 during the next five years to renovate the bridge, which includes $6,146,500 in carry-forward money from past years, $376,000 in committed funding, and $5.8 million this year, $6.2 million next year, $5.4 million in 2026, $5.4 million in 2027 and $4.6 million in 2028.

In the 2024 budget, CPKS’s contribution was listed as $8,939,500, but city administration said that number was “imaginary right now” because the company hadn’t given any funding due to arbitration. 

City administration hopes that the rail company funds 50 per cent of the rehabilitation costs.

This project has more than doubled since city administration first discussed it in December 2020. At that time, city hall thought the project would cost $11.12 million and start in 2022. However, by September 2021, the cost estimate had jumped to $16 million.  

The City of Moose Jaw and Canadian Pacific Kansas City — formerly Canadian Pacific Railway — are disputing over who is responsible for bridge upgrade costs.

The municipality entered mediation with the railway company in 2022 to confirm a cost-sharing agreement, as it believes the bridge allows CPKS to continue offering uninterrupted services and operations at its rail yard. However, the rail company believes it should pay very little — or nothing at all. 

The two parties had entered mediation to resolve the dispute, but that failed, leading to the current arbitration through the Canadian Transportation Agency. 

This is not the first time the two parties have disputed about paying to fix the Fourth Avenue Southwest bridge, as both parties squabbled during a similar dispute in the late 1980s. 

Based on an agreement the municipality and CP Rail signed when the Thunderbird Viaduct opened in 1929, the rail company was responsible for maintaining the centre steel span while the municipality was responsible for maintaining the road and concrete work. 

Both parties began conversations in 1984 — 55 years after the structure was built — about rebuilding the bridge, with city officials believing the upgrades would be finished by 1988. 

Council agreed to a CP Rail proposal to split the project cost of roughly $1.2 million, to accept $200,000 from the company so the municipality had full maintenance control in the future, and accept $50,000 to modify the bridge’s design to include decorative features.

However, costs began to rise, and CP Rail refused to accept responsibility for replacing the steel truss section. Negotiations then bogged down after the city asked the company to share the cost of the concrete work. 

In the end, CP paid roughly $1.2 million to restore the steel span, while the city paid over $2.2 million — the province covered 67 per cent — for the concrete and deck work. 

The next regular council meeting is Monday, May 13.