October 6, 2008

PCL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT INC. (EDMONTON)

The Anthony Henday Drive southeast leg ring road in Edmonton was Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation’s first P3 transportation project. It was completed in October 2007.

Edmonton ring road project earns Design-Build Award of Excellence

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

The Canadian Design-Build Institute (CDBI) has presented its annual Design-Build Award of Excellence for a transportation project in Edmonton, the first of its type to win the award.

Completed in October 2007, the Anthony Henday Drive southeast leg ring road project includes 20 bridge structures and more than 11 kilometres of roadway.

The first such project to be carried out by Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation on a design-build-finance-operate basis, the ring road was delivered by a team that included design-builder PCL Construction Management Inc. (Edmonton).

The total cost was $493 million.

“All of us are proud that this is the first ever civil project to win this award from the CDBI,” said Roger Dootson, vice-president and district manager at PCL Construction Management Inc. (Edmonton).

In its role as design-builder, PCL provided comprehensive design and construction services.

“The design-build approach fostered successful partnerships among all project team members, commencing in the design phase,” PCL said in its awards submission.

“Drawing on the entire project team’s combined expertise, PCL addressed project design and construction requirements within budget and schedule parameters. The result was the delivery of a fast-tracked, cost-effective quality infrastructure project.”

PCL said that while the price tag was close to the province’s estimated cost of $497 million for a traditionally delivered project, including operations and maintenance for 30 years, the real savings were achieved by accelerated delivery and cost certainty.

The project was delivered at least two years earlier than it would have been using a traditional procurement method.

The PCL team included design consultants MMM Group and Stantec Consulting Ltd.; earthworks contractor Sureway Construction Ltd.; bridge structures contractor PCL-Maxam, a joint venture; and surfacing contractor, Lafarge Canada Inc.

The project incorporated an environmental management system consistent with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards.

During the course of construction, PCL held bi-weekly meetings with key regulatory stakeholders.

The project team also met with Ducks Unlimited and Alberta Environment to ensure project wetland mitigation requirements were met.

Ultimately, more than 98 hectares of wetlands were restored.

PCL donated $50,000 to the City of Edmonton to restore an additional wetland in close proximity to the project limits.

The CDBI awards jury said the PCL submission completely satisfied the required criteria.

Items of interest included innovative scheduling and construction techniques, integration of the future operating team in the design process and use of ISO standards.

“The winning project exhibited complexity and breadth of services,” the jury said.

Established in 2002, the CDBI Awards recognize excellence in Canada’s design-build industry and acknowledge design-build teams whose projects contribute to the growth and stature of the industry.

The award was presented at the institute’s national design-build conference in Toronto.

CDBI is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Print | Email | Comment