TORONTO - The regulating body for professional engineers in Ontario is investigating the possibility of incompetence in the failure of the Nipigon River bridge last January, which severed a critical link on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Two engineering reports found that improperly tightened bolts on one portion of the first suspension bridge ever built in Ontario had snapped, causing the steel decking to lift about 60 centimetres.
Other factors that contributed to the failure of the $106-million bridge just six weeks after it opened were the design of the shoe plate and its flexibility, and a lack of rotation in the bearing.
Professional Engineers Ontario says it can initiate investigations in the absence of a complaint being filed "on the reasonable and probable grounds...of professional misconduct or incompetence."
The regulator says it has a responsibility to investigate "any possible engineering practice deficiencies related to the failure and determine if engineering work was carried out by appropriately licensed people and companies."
The failure of the Nipigon Bridge forced up to 1,300 trucks -- carrying an estimated $100 million worth of goods -- to detour each day for several weeks.
