Photo courtesy Alberta Transportation

Aerial view of Edmonton's ring road.

Last month, Alberta Transportation (AT), Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association (ARHCA), and the Consulting Engineers of Alberta (CEA) honoured groundbreaking work in the province's transportation infrastructure sector.

One of the honours given out at the Red Deer, Alta., conference was the 2009 Minister's Award of Excellence in Transportation Innovation, which went to a high-tension cable barrier along the Deerfoot Trail. The award was presented to the team of EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd., Alberta Transportation, the Canadian Highways Institute, Carmacks Enterprises Ltd., and Volker Stevin Contracting Ltd.

Another prize, the Award for Technical Innovation, was presented to the project team behind the systems interchanges configuration of the Northwest Anthony Henday Drive—a 21-km (13-mi) four- and six-lane portion of the new ring road around Edmonton. Essentially, the work was a redesign of two major interchanges to:
• improve constructability;
• shorten construction timelines; and
• decrease project costs by $15 to $20 million.

The honour went to AECOM, Flatiron, Bilfinger BOT, Parsons, and Graham Construction Co.

"The redesigned interchanges exemplify the benefits of a public-private partnership and design-build approach," said Jim Shappell, Parsons president. "The combined experience of engineers and contractors is a major benefit in assessing complex projects, particularly in recognizing and mitigating constructability issues."

The same team was joined with Spencer Environmental Management Services, the City of Calgary, and Alberta's Transportation and Environment ministries in receiving the Minister's Award for Process Innovation.

The accolade recognized a new process developed to expedite approvals of the drainage plan for Northeast Stoney Trail, a portion of a Calgary ring road quite similar to the Edmonton one. The partners developed a new method for multiple stakeholders to review and approve the plan, condensing into a few months a process that might have taken several years.

Photo courtesy Government of Alberta

In September 2008, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach was on hand for the official start of construction on the Northwest Anthony Henday Drive. The systems interchanges configuration for this section of Edmonton's ring road was recently awarded for its innovation.