Technical excellence and innovation were honoured at the 2020 B.C. Highways Consulting Engineers Awards on Jan. 28, 2020, in Vancouver.

The categories for this year’s awards included design and contract preparation for roads, design and contract preparation for structures, construction management and supervision services, specialized engineering services and alternate transportation.

Design and contract preparation – roads

The winner in this category is ISL Engineering and Land Services for its work on the North Fork Bridge Replacement and Four-Laning project on the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately 28 kilometres east of Sicamous. The old North Fork Bridge was built in 1958 and was the last remaining metal-truss bridge along Highway 1. ISL worked with a ministry structural engineering team to replace the two-lane narrow steel truss bridge with a new, 66-metre, four-lane concrete bridge.

ISL came up with a creative design to allow construction of a westbound structure while traffic remained on the existing bridge. This allowed an eastbound structure to be constructed after traffic shifted to the newly built bridge. The project also included 1.7 kilometres of new frontage roads and two new protected T-intersections. This work boosts capacity and safety for people travelling along this corridor.

Design and contract preparation – structures

The top honour in this category went to Stantec Consulting Ltd. for its work on the Nass River Bridge Replacement on Highway 37, approximately 76 kilometres east of Stewart. This project demonstrated engineering excellence with the construction of a new two-lane, approximately 130-metre bridge to span the Nass River. This replaced the former single-lane bridge.

The new bridge meets modern design criteria for heavy industry routes, set to accommodate large transport trucks. The design had to consider the remote northern location of the bridge in conjunction with the shortened construction season and logistics when rocky terrain and varying rock quality posed challenges.

Construction management and supervision services

The award in this category went to WSP Canada Inc. for extraordinary construction supervision on the Highway 1 Mountain Highway Interchange project in North Vancouver. The project includes a new, improved alignment and the construction of a full interchange two kilometres north of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, which will significantly shorten commute times and improve safety for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists on the North Shore. 

As crews worked on this project, the Mountain Highway Interchange was constrained by steep terrain and tight work spaces. WSP was instrumental in ensuring the contractor managed its work efficiently and safely. WSP did an excellent job monitoring the operation and safety of traffic management plans, detour plans, temporary pedestrian and cycling connections, intersection operations and lane closures.

Specialized engineering services

The top honour in this category went to R. F. Binnie & Associates Ltd. for the Alex Fraser Bridge Capacity Improvement project on Highway 91 in Delta. This project involved adding a seventh lane to the bridge, along with a moveable barrier system and a zipper truck, which is being used to create counterflow for traffic during peak times.

Binnie’s quality management processes provided an efficient and seamless transition from project development, through design and into construction. The new zipper system is unique to Western Canada. It is making a difference for the almost 120,000 people who drive across the Alex Fraser Bridge every day.

Alternate transportation

The recipient of this award is AECOM Canada Ltd. for the Commercial Broadway SkyTrain upgrade in Vancouver. This is Canada’s first dual platform transit station within Metro Vancouver’s busiest transit hub, with approximately 150,000 commuters on a typical weekday.

AECOM’s station design includes universal fare gates, two new elevators, four new escalators, wayfinding tiles and handrail upgrades to ensure a safe and convenient station for people with accessibility challenges. This project represented several engineering firsts for TransLink and a significant investment in this busy transit hub. The upgrades serve transit riders daily and enhance capacity, safety, efficiency and accessibility for this key interchange station.

Learn More:

2020 B.C. Highways Consulting Engineers Awards: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/celebrating-british-columbia/celebrating-excellence-transportation/consulting-engineers-awards-2020