Kicking Horse Canyon Highway Project

Rough terrain, smooth resultsRebuilding the Trans-Canada Highway through Kicking Horse Canyon in British Columbia posed more than its share of engineering and construction challenges. As Keith Regan learns, the project has proven to be rich with opportunities as well.  The stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway that runs through Kicking Horse Canyon in British Columbia has long had its share of safety problems. The highway cuts through a steep canyon, with sheer rock walls towering over the roadway in some places, creating significant rockslide hazards.   Wildlife accidents have historically been common as well, and the 1950s-era bridges in the canyon resulted in roadway alignments that are far less than ideal. Hoping to correct those deficiencies, the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation set out in 2003 to carry out a multiphase reconstruction project that includes modern bridges, improved roadway alignments, wildlife crossings and barriers and protections against rockslides reaching the roadway. The province expects millions of dollars in benefits from the work, says Murray Tekano, senior project director, thanks to improved access for recreational users of the provinceÔÇÖs vast wilderness areas and more efficient transportation of goods between cities in the area. The nearly $1 billion project is being carried out in four phases, the final part of which is now in the design process. Work began in 2003 with phase 1, which involved replacing the Yoho Bridge and upgrading 3.2 kilometers of the highway from two lanes to four.Work began with removal of an area of rock known as Six Mile Hill, where construction techniques for working with the exposed outcroppings were tested and a staging area was built to enable work to be carried out. A major improvement made during the design stage was the decision to use a delta support structure on the new bridge. That approach enabled traditional-length girders to be used, which dramatically reduced transportation costs and simplified logisticsÔÇöparts of the canyon are three full hours from the nearest city. ÔÇ£The logistical challenges are quite immense, so being able to use more conventional construction materials was a big help,ÔÇØ says Tekano. That bridge design garnered the project an award from the Consulting Engineers of British Columbia. Another bridge replacement in that phase was notable because, after the contract to build it was awarded, the construction contractor suggested an improved design, pointing out that by building a parallel cantilever structure, the environmental impact and cost of the work could be reduced. Transportation ministry officials reviewed the proposal and agreed to the change, which saved $2 million, savings shared between the contractor and the project owner, which put its portion of the savings back into additional rock-fall protection measures along the stretch of highway. The second phase involved replacement of the Park Bridge and reconfiguring 5.8 kilometers of highway, a project that was funded by the province as well as the federal government through the Canadian Strategic Infrastructure Program (CSIF). As that phase made its way into the procurement process, Canadian officials were becoming increasingly interested in public-private partnerships and other creative contracting options. ÔÇ£We decided to expand the scope and see if we could implement a partnership to provide greater value,ÔÇØ Tekano says. In the end, a consortium known as the Trans Park Highway Group won a contract to build, deliver and maintain and operate the Park Bridge for 25 years. The consortium was at work on the construction part of the project within 30 days of the contract being signed and worked virtually nonstop until the work was finished. ÔÇ£I think they took a short Christmas break, but otherwise they worked through below-zero wind-chills to keep the work moving,ÔÇØ Tekano says. The project was essentially broken up into three smaller phases, one each on the east side of the river, the bridge itself and the west side, an approach that eliminated the need to move material or equipment over the bridge during construction. Work continued independently until the components were tied together. The east approach to the bridge required the removal of 1 million cubic meters of material, and in order to meet the contract requirement that traffic disruption be minimized, the contractor built a haul bridge over the highway, enabling work to continue 24/7 without stopping highway traffic. The contractor also negotiated to expand the scope of work to reuse the excavated material to further widen the roadway, eliminating the need to haul the material over long distances. In the end, the bridgework and roads were delivered 21 months ahead of schedule. ÔÇ£It was an incredible feat of construction management and innovative approaches and techniques.ÔÇØ In fact, the project team later realized that, based on the original projections, value engineering and other changes saved some $18 millionÔÇöa significant portion of the overall $125 million price tag for the phase. The feat helped earn the project the PremierÔÇÖs Award for Innovation. ÔÇ£Those savings came in addition to significant added value for the province.ÔÇØ The province is now three years into the operations and maintenance part of the contract and is very happy with the results. The remainder of phase 3 is now ongoing, with work being done through a combination of design-bid-build and design-build contracts to provide opportunities for owner and contractor changes to enhance the value of the work. Although procured separately from the public-private partnership, the concessionaire is still part of the project team reviewing work and providing advice on maintenance and rehabilitation implications. The phase has also seen the province use innovative techniques for stabilizing the often arid and steep roadside slopes, testing new vegetation that will be more resistant to over-grazing from the wild sheep and other animals in the area. Those efforts as well as attempts to assure adequate wildlife crossings and to preserve water resources and minimize impact on salmon spawning areas helped win the project the Environmental Achievement Award from the Transportation Association of Canada. The fourth and final phase of the workÔÇödecoupled from the original phase 3 to suit the funding programsÔÇöis now in the design process. It will also be one of the most challenging parts of the project because the canyon terrain is especially difficult in that stretch. Early schematics envision possibly double-boring tunnels or other alternatives to straighten the winding highway. The province believes the work will help generate an additional $46 million annually in regional economic benefits, thanks to the improved access. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a beautiful part of the country; the scenery is breathtaking,ÔÇØ Tekano says. ÔÇ£So this work brings a lot of benefits beyond the safety improvements.ÔÇØ┬á