Windley Contracting Ltd. has won this year's Deputy Minister's Contractor of the Year Award in the grading category, for its work on the Highway 97, Winfield to Oyama four-laning project.

Nine kilometres of new four-lane highway were constructed to replace the last two-lane section of Highway 97 between the Okanagan Connector and Vernon. The contractor excavated and placed 1.7 million cubic metres of rock and soils during the two year project, which included construction of two overpasses, one at Wood Lake near Oceola Road at the south end and one at Gatzke Road at the north end, to connect the existing Highway 97 to the new alignment.

Two underpasses were built at Old Mission Road and Lake Country Access to provide access to Crown land on the west side of the highway. Truck climbing lanes were built for slower moving traffic and a concrete median barrier was installed for added safety.

The company worked with the Westbank First Nation and the Okanagan Indian Band to preserve heritage values and protect archaeological sites found along the corridor. Workers also took extraordinary measures to ensure that local wildlife was undisturbed by the project. Two environmentally sensitive areas with bat habitat were preserved, and lizards and rattlesnakes found along the route during construction were captured and relocated to two newly constructed reptile dens.

The Deputy Minister's Contractor of the Year Awards recognize construction and maintenance companies demonstrating excellence in the categories of grading, paving, bridges and structures, and highway maintenance work throughout the province. There is also an award for excellence in safety innovation.

The 11th annual awards were hosted by the B.C. Road Builders & Heavy Construction Association on Dec. 6 in Victoria.

The other finalists in this category were Hoban Equipment Ltd. for the Highway 97 Old Cariboo to Sintich Road project and Barrie MacKay Construction Ltd. for the Highway 3 Sparwood climbing lane project.

Quotes:

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone -

"This award to Windley Contracting is well deserved. The Winfield to Oyama four-laning was a very large, complex project and the company successfully met all the challenges it presented, while managing partnerships and protecting the environment at the same time."

"Congratulations as well to the other finalists, for their great work this year in keeping B.C.'s transportation network safe and efficient for the travelling public."

Photographs of the Deputy Minister's Contractor of the Year Award winners and finalists can be viewed at: http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/celebratingexcellence/contractors.htm

Media Contact:

Cindy Cousins
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
250 356-1572