Manitoba fails to inspect bridges properly, auditor says

Almost a third of the bridges owned by the Province of Manitoba either aren't getting inspected or have been left to other governments to inspect, according to a provincial audit.

The province is not inspecting all of its bridges and large culverts as thoroughly as it should, Auditor General Norm Ricard said in a statement issued Thursday.

This has increased the risk of problems not being detected on bridgesor nothing being done when problems are identified, he wrote.

"Bridge inspections are the first line of defence in ensuring bridge safety. It is important that they be done in a timely manner as required by Manitoba Infrastructure policy," Ricard wrote.

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Manitoba Infrastructure is responsible for more than 3,000 bridges.

A total of616 structures most of them large, bridge-sized culverts were not inspected at all, while another 288 were left to other levels of government or conservation districts to inspect, the audit concluded.

It also foundproblems with the inspections that were conducted. While inspectors correctly noted bridges in poor condition, they did not always back up their decisions to declare bridges inexcellent, good or fair condition.

"Inadequate support for condition ratings is of particular concern for elements rated as fair, as it makes it harder for management to assess if any of these elements should have been rated as poor. These elements may be in more urgent need of maintenance or rehabilitation work," Ricardwrote.

The audit also found senior managers at Manitoba Infrastructuredidn't do a good enough job monitoring inspection reports. That led tosome maintenance being put off because staff didn't think it needed to be done.

Manitoba Infrastructure also failed to take risk assessments into account when they made plans for major repairs, the audit concluded.

"Manitoba Infrastructure could not clearly show that structures most in need of work were being prioritized and that it was making the best use of its limited funding. More structured and documented processes, information and tools are needed," Ricard wrote.

The audit also foundManitoba Infrastructure failed to properly track maintenance receipts from contractors, making it difficult to determine whether the work was done properly.

"Poor management of submittals and underused checklists increase the risk that planned work will not be done as specified," Ricard wrote.

Cliff Cullen,acting infrastructureminister for the Progressive Conservative government,blamed the previous NDP government for the failures.

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"It's quite an alarming report from the auditor general. I think it shows the lack of action and lack of oversight by the previous NDP government on these key infrastructure components," Cullen said in an interview.

A total of 920 bridgeinspections will be conducted in 2016-17, a news releasesaid.