February 13, 2013

Consulting engineers earn awards

B.C. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

CMS Focus Management Services Ltd. of Victoria won the Deputy Minister's award for construction management and supervision for the 202nd Street Rapid Transit Project in Langley, B.C.

Several British Columbia engineering firms took the top prizes at the ninth annual Deputy Minister's Consulting Engineers Awards.

Finalists and a winner were chosen for projects completed in 2012 in the categories of: design and contract preparation – roads; design and contract preparation – structures; construction management and supervision services; specialized engineering services; and transit engineering service.

Buckland and Taylor Ltd. of North Vancouver won in the design and contract preparation – structures category for work on the Hagwilget Suspension Bridge Rehabilitation project near New Hazelton, B.C.

“This award highlights the engineering excellence involved in designing a rehabilitation project on a historic suspension bridge that spans over a canyon, 80 metres above a river,” said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Mary Polak.

“This was a giant undertaking and Buckland and Taylor Ltd. of North Vancouver did a magnificent job. Congratulations to all of the finalists for their work to further boost B.C.’s thriving transportation networks.”

More than $5 million has been invested over three years to rehabilitate the single-lane steel-suspension bridge located on the Hazelton High Level Road, two kilometres north of Highway 16.

Suspended 80 metres above the Bulkley River, the bridge is constructed of steel and cable, with a tower at either end and cement abutments at the approaches.

Buckland and Taylor Ltd. was awarded an $875,000 design contract in March 2011 to replace corroded steelwork components, inspect the main suspension cables and provide a coating condition assessment.

SNC Lavalin took the top honours for transit engineering services for their work on the Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility Project in Kamloops.

The firm was awarded a $600,000 contract through BC Transit to design and carry out contract management for a new Kamloops Transit Centre, which includes an administration and maintenance building, seven service bays, a diesel fuelling station, wash bay, storage area and parking.

B.C. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Urban Systems Ltd. of Vancouver earned an award in the design and contract preparation category for the Highway 97 Winfield to Oyama four-laning project.

Urban Systems Ltd. of Vancouver earned kudos in the design and contract preparation category for the Highway 97 Winfield to Oyama four-laning project in the Okanagan.

“This award highlights the technical expertise of Urban Systems Ltd., delivering a practical and efficient highway design to increase capacity from two lanes to four lanes and, at the same time, respecting and preserving environmentally sensitive areas in the Okanagan,” said Polak.

The company was awarded a $1.4 million contract to provide the engineering work required to complete the design of about nine kilometres of Highway 97 within the District of Lake Country, upgrading it from two lanes to four lanes with a 100 kilometre per hour speed.

The $77.9 million project has currently passed the halfway mark.

The design dealt with challenging terrain, steep grades, high cuts and large quantities of material that needed to be removed in order to build two highway bridges and two vehicle underpasses, as well as relocating the highway away from Wood Lake.

CMS Focus Management Services Ltd. of Victoria won the award for excellence in construction management and supervision for the 202nd Street Rapid Transit Project in Langley, B.C. The company got a $4.7 million contract to manage and provide supervision services for the construction of two new structures on Highway 1 eastbound and westbound lanes, a roundabout to allow express bus underpass access on and off of Highway 1, and a new Park and Ride facility in Langley for 669 vehicles. 

The project was time sensitive and dealt with challenging geotechnical conditions such as soft soil.

Cobra Electric (South Coast) Ltd. of Surrey and PBA Consulting Engineers of Vancouver took the top award for specialized engineering services for work on the George Massey Tunnel and Alex Fraser Bridge Advanced Traveller Information System in Vancouver. The B.C. government invested $2.7 million for five new intelligent, overhead message signs to estimate travel times for motorists travelling to or from the Oak Street Bridge and King George Boulevard via the George Massey Tunnel and Alex Fraser Bridge.  

JOC NEWS SERVICE

B.C. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Work on the Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility Project in Kamloops earned a Deputy Minister’s award for SNC Lavalin.

Print | Comment