Interpaving barred from bidding on Greater Sudbury contracts after construction site death

The Sudbury company under investigation for the death of a pedestrian on one of its construction sites has been barred from bidding on city contracts.

Interpaving Limited has been banned from doing work for the city under section 37 of its purchasing bylaw, which allows for bidders to be barred for several reasons, including poor performance, illegal activity or health and safety violations.

This follows the death of a woman on the company's Elgin Street job site last fall, who was crushed by a grader.

But in a released statement, the city did not specify why it no longer wants Interpaving to do work for it.

"The City has decided to remove Interpaving's ability to submit bids on City projects, effective immediately," the statement reads.

"This is a legal matter, and we cannot provide further comment. The City expects that all contracts that have already been started will be finished under the terms and conditions of the contracts in place."

Interpaving was awarded $9 million worth of city contracts last year, including the Elgin Street job, which it is now expected to complete, with the remaining section between Elm and Larch to be ripped up in the coming months.

Interpaving 'in dialogue' with city

The company released its own statement:

"As we can all appreciate, the tragic accident that occurred in September on the Elgin Street project with the city has put a strain on the relationship between City staff and Interpaving. We are in dialogue with city staff to try to address the issues and improve the relationship," the Interpaving statement reads.

"That said, we disagree with the city's decision and especially how it was reached. We have engaged in discussions to try to resolve this matter and we hope that we can reach a reasonable resolution. However, if necessary, Interpaving will explore all other options available."

Interpaving has been a major workhorse for Greater Sudbury, regularly doing millions of dollars worth of repaving and other construction work for the city.

The Sudbury-based company also does a lot of work for the province, including a $10 million repaving job for Highway 144, which was awarded days after the fatal accident on Elgin last summer. 

The Ministry of Labour continues to investigate that death.

This is not the first time the ministry has been called to an Interpaving job site.

In the last two years, it has issued 23 orders to the company for violations at construction sites in northern Ontario —  almost all of them related to the safety of workers and the public.