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Aecon, Strabag teams top bidders to build tunnels for two Toronto transit projects
Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx have singled out two build teams as the First Negotiations Proponents (FNPs) for a pair of upcoming transit tunnel construction projects.
From a shortlist of three bidders announced last August, the two agencies ranked the West End Connectors as the top bidder for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project. The team consists of Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., Dragados Canada Inc. and Ghella Canada Ltd. as project leads.
A consortia headed by Strabag AG was named as the top bidder for the Scarborough Subway Extension, through a separate procurement process running on the same timeline.
Each design, build and finance contract covers just tunnel construction for the respective project, with separate tenders for station construction, tunnel fit-out and commissioning of the transit
Underground work on Avenue Station, a stop on the original Eglinton Crosstown, in 2018. The extension will stretch the line 9.2 kilometres west
lines to come later. IO and Metrolinx said selecting the FNPs is the first step in its negotiations process for the projects. The Crown agencies will now move forward with finalizing the details with each consortia “to ensure that each team has a proposal that provides the best value for the province.”
If the negotiations progress as planned, the province and the two build teams are expected to reach financial close on their contracts this spring. The final financial details for the projects are not yet available, but IO lists each project as worth more than $1 billion in its most
Two construction consortia have been picked to prepare bids for a major project to replace the jail and corrections centre in Thunder Bay, Ont.
On April 1, Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of the Solicitor General said the EllisDon Infrastructure Justice and the Fengate PCL Progress Partners build teams have been shortlisted for the Thunder Bay Correctional Complex project. The two pre-qualified teams will prepare bids in the coming months as part of the request for proposals process.
Replacing an aging site in the Northern Ontario city, the new Thunder Bay Correctional Complex will include 325 beds, new automation and technology, while offering improved living conditions. It’s being built under a design, build, finance and mainrecent P3 Market Update.
Tunnelling for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will cover roughly six kilometres, while the Scarborough Subway Extension requires a 7.8 kilometre tunnel. The construction teams will be responsible for digging the tunnels, building launch and extraction shafts and constructing headwalls for emergency exit buildings and stations. They will also need to source tunnel boring machines and install segmental precast concrete tunnel liners.
Early work on both projects will get underway shortly, with tunnel boring expected to start next year.
EllisDon, PCL teams shortlisted for major Thunder Bay jail replacement project
tain contract. Costs for the project have not been finalized, but Infrastructure Ontario estimated the work will run between $500 million and $1 billion in its latest P3 Market Update.
The next step in procurement advances a process started in 2018.
A separate, but related contract was handed down last month, with the province tapping Bird Construction to take on modular expansions at the Thunder Bay site, as well as at the Kenora, Ont. jail. That work will increase the capacity at both facilities to address overcrowding while the new prison complex is built over the next several years.
Infrastructure Ontario expects to pick a winning bidder for the Thunder Bay Correctional Complex project by next spring. on-sitemag.com / 7
Priestly Demolition buys Calgary-based Dakota Reclamators, pushing into Western Canada
Priestly Demolition Inc. is expanding into Western Canada with the purchase of a Calgary-based demolition and environmental remediation company.
The King, Ont.-based firm said March 2 it has acquired Dakota Reclamators in a move that will bring together two well-established contractors to better serve clients across Canada.
“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Priestly Demolition, one where we will be able to facilitate projects across the country, quickly and safely,” Ryan Priestly, the company’s president, said in a release. “We are thrilled to embark on this new journey that will, undoubtedly, transform our organizations.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Focused mainly on Ontario in the past, Priestly has also worked on specialized projects in the U.S. and other Canadian provinces. Recently, it has been expanding its presence is Western Canada. In Alberta, for instance, the demolition contractor has taken on several projects on Calgary’s Stampede grounds, as well as an office
A project to rebuild a section of the West Fraser Road south of Quesnel, B.C. is set to begin next month.
The province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
PHOTO: PRIESTLY DEMOLITION/CONCRETE PICTURES
Priestly crews working on a demolition project in downtown Toronto last year.
building job in Edmonton.
Adding Dakota Reclamators to its banner will further advance Priestly’s push into new markets. The Calgarybased company was founded in 2005 and has worked on a wide range of projects throughout Western Canada.
Enviro-Ex to begin $37.7M project to rebuild West Fraser Road in B.C. this spring
An aerial shot of one of the washed out potions of road in 2018.
has awarded Prince George-based Enviro-Ex Contracting Ltd. a $37.7 million contract to rebuild the road on the west side of the Fraser River that was washed out by flooding three years ago. Work includes building a new bridge over Narcosli Creek and constructing 5.6 kilometres of new two-lane road on a new alignment that bypasses the active slide area.
“Since flooding washed out West Fraser Road in spring 2018, we’ve been actively working on a long-term solution,” said Rob Fleming, B.C.’s minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, in a release. “Construction is anticipated to begin next month on a new alignment that will restore direct access to Quesnel and provide a reliable route for people who live and work in the area.”
As part of the separate agreement with the province, the ?Esdilagh First Nation has already begun site preparation ahead of the major road work next month. First Nation community members are the main users of the road, which connects to homes, farms, ranches and logging areas. A detour has been in place since the washout, but adds significant time.
Construction on the realigned road is scheduled to take about 2 1/2 years, running from April 2021 until fall 2023.
Departure of Sidewalk Labs prompts search for new developer on Toronto waterfront
10 months after Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs walked away from early plans to develop a 12-acre plot of land known as Quayside, Waterfront Toronto has begun the search for a new partner.
The joint federal-provincial-municipal organization said March 10 it has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) to identify a new development partner for the site on Toronto’s increasingly crowded eastern waterfront.
“The people of Toronto have told us that they want to see a bold vision realized on the waterfront that reflects the confident, welcoming, and imaginative civic spirit of our city,” Stephen Diamond, chair of Waterfront Toronto’s board, said in a release.
“We are looking for leaders in the development field that will share our ambition to create a place that fuses Quayside to the water, and provides more beauty, utility, and originality than previously imagined. We want Quayside to be timeless, adaptive, and to propel us into our rightful place among the great waterfronts of the world,” Diamond added.
To evaluate potential partners, Waterfront Toronto said it will be looking for companies or teams with proven experience, a thorough design portfolio and the financial resources to create a mixed-use community in Quayside.
Before stepping aside last year, Sidewalk Labs had been working on
A rendering of one vision for the 12-acre site on the increasingly crowded Toronto waterfront.
development plans for the site since 2017. Its smart city blueprints included a wide range of futuristic components, but it faced criticism from the outset, most vocally from privacy advocates. It cited the “unprecedented economic uncertainty” created by the pandemic for pulling out of the project.
The deadline for teams to enter the new RFQ process is May 12, at which point Waterfront Toronto plans to shortlist several proponents and issue of a request for proposals. The organization aims to pick a winning bidder by the end of 2021.
EllisDon forms new construction group focused on civil work in Alberta and B.C.
EllisDon is unbundling its business unit focused on civil construction projects in Alberta and British Columbia.
The contractor said March 10 its Western Canada Civil Group, which previously fell under its Buildings Group, will begin operating as a separate entity, effective immediately. The team will focus on transit, infrastructure, environmental and small civil projects throughout the two provinces that are dedicating considerable funding to infrastructure.
Colin Hill, a 20-year veteran of civil work, will head the group as vice-president. EllisDon noted Hill has spent the past five years actively developing the new team under the Calgary Buildings Group while preparing to break it off into a separate entity.
“I am incredibly excited to lead our deeply talented Civil team as we take on our own area of responsibility in Western Canada,” Hill said in a release. “I am very proud of the Civil team we have built over the years, and our achievements as a group in a short period of time are an indication of even greater things to come.” The Mississauga, Ont.-headquartered contractor said the Western Civil unit will lean on their self-performing concrete form, place and finish capabilities to stay competitive when taking on work in the two provinces.
First piles installed in Fraser River, but $1.4B Pattullo Bridge delayed into 2024
Early foundation works on the new Pattullo Bridge have started in-river and on both banks of the Fraser in New Westminster and Surrey, B.C.
Roughly 14 months after the major Vancouver area bridge contract was awarded, however, the province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says challenges tied to COVID-19 and unanticipated project complexities will push the completion date for the replacement span back into 2024, from late 2023. The province pointed to drawn out investigative work and a slow permitting processes for the delay. It did not disclose a specific date in 2024, though it noted the project’s $1.377 billion budget remains intact.
“The project team is reviewing options to mitigate the delay and have the bridge open as early as possible,” the province said in a release April 1.
The new Pattullo Bridge will replace a more than 80-year-old structure of the same name. It will have a cable-stayed design, with a main span of 330 meters over the Fraser River. While it will be built with four lanes, the design will allow for it to be expanded to six lanes at a later date.
To date, the Fraser Crossing Partners – the Acciona and Aecon Group Inc. consortium responsible for the Pattullo project – said it has carried out geotechnical studies, a test pile and awarded major project contracts. Demolition, archaeological investigations as well as structural and hydraulic design are currently underway, the team added.
Preliminary in-river work on the bridge’s sole tower began this February. To stay in line with Fisheries and Oceans Canada regulations, and to protect fish, that work has been paused for the spring and is expected to resume later this summer. Meanwhile, bridge foundations on both banks of the river are scheduled to start shortly.
Over the next four years, the project is expected to create approximately 7,000 jobs, both on-site and indirectly. Like other
PHOTO: ACCIONA
Preliminary work in the Fraser River. Crews will shift their focus to bridge foundations on land over the next several months.
recent infrastructure projects in B.C., the bridge is being delivered using the province’s Community Benefits Agreement framework, which prioritizes hiring local workers, as well as those from under-represented parts of the population.
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