Roadbuilding

July 28, 2008

Plan hatched to retrieve tunnel boring machine

McNally Construction and Aecon Group, working as a joint venture, have begun preparations to remove the $5-million tunnel boring machine that has been trapped underground.

July 28, 2008

Toppled Crane Snarls Traffic

A crane tipped over and dangled above several lanes of traffic on Highway 1 in Surrey, B.C. just east of the Port Mann Bridge at about 7:30 a.m. on July 22.

July 23, 2008

WorkSafeBC blames Canada Line crane death on lack of operator training

Scathing reports into the death of a 22 year old crane operator blame a lack of training, among other factors, for contributing to the young man’s death, but recommend a fine rather than criminal charges.

July 21, 2008

Detailed designs underway for Circle Drive bridge over South Saskatchewan River

The federal and provincial governments are planning to make a multi-million dollar investment to improve the flow of traffic in Saskatoon by building a new bridge over the South Saskatchewan River.

July 21, 2008

Supreme Court sides with owners in three construction contract disputes

Glenn W. Ackerley, a partner with legal firm WeirFoulds LLP of Toronto, says three recent cases stand to have an impact on Canadian construction contract law: Double N Earthmovers Ltd. v. Edmonton (City); Design Services Ltd. v. Canada; and Tercon Contractors Ltd. v. British Columbia (Transportation and Highways).

July 16, 2008

Preliminary design for Strathcona Dam upgrade proposes underwater seismic isolation

The design calls for the use of a method known as seismic isolation of a structure that is partially underwater, says John Sherstobitoff of Sandwell Engineering Inc.

July 14, 2008

Aecon Group wins contract to twin Highway 21 near Edmonton

Aecon Group Inc. has been awarded a contract by Alberta Transportation to twin a 13-kilometre section of Highway 21 near Edmonton.

July 14, 2008

ATCO wins contract to build massive worker village in United Arab Emirates

ATCO Ltd. has signed a contract to build a construction village to house workers in the United Arab Emirates. The workforce housing project is the largest in the 60-year old company’s history.

July 9, 2008

Armtec Infrastructure acquires A.E. Concrete Precast Products

Armtec Infrastructure Income Fund has acquired a British Columbia-based company in order to expand their presence in the market for precast concrete in Western Canada.

July 9, 2008

SNC-Lavalin wins contract to design Highway 99 bus-only lane

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon announced on June 5 that SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a $649,000 design and engineering contract for the northbound lane, which will extend from Westminster Highway to Bridgeport Road.

June 30, 2008

Worker crushed by paving machine at Ottawa job site

A 30-year-old employee of Torus Construction Limited is dead after being crushed at a Ottawa job site.

June 30, 2008

Ultra high-performance concrete formulation extends material’s limits

When I first wrote about ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) almost seven years ago, it was a new product that had grown out of a concept that was, itself, little more than a decade old.