B.C. pre-qualifies three build teams for final stage of highway project that will cost $125M per kilometre

Three of the four stages of the complicated highway project have already been completed. PHOTO: B.C. Ministry of Transportation/Flickr

A costly highway widening project just east of Golden, B.C. is one step closer to being shovel-ready.

The province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said Dec. 13 it has shortlisted three teams for the final stage of the long-running Kicking Horse Canyon Project.

Three previous phases of work have widened just over 21 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway, or Hwy. 1, through the scenic canyon adjacent to Yoho and Banff national parks. Phase 4 will complete the final 4.8-kilometres, four-laning what’s currently a two-lane road, as well as installing avalanche and rockfall hazard protection.

Due to significant technical challenges, the relatively short highway widening project is expected to cost a staggering $601 million — or about $125 million per kilometre.

A map of the project. Click to enlarge. PHOTO: Province of B.C.

To take on the complex design-build project, the province has pre-qualified three construction teams: Kiewit Infrastructure BC ULC, Flatiron-Vinci Joint Venture and Kicking Horse Canyon Constructors. (Scroll to the bottom of the article for a full breakdown of the consortia).

The unveiling of the shortlist follows the request for qualifications stage that got underway this September.

B.C. expects to award the contract to one of the teams by summer 2020 and construction is scheduled to start in the fall. Currently, planners are targeting late 2023 or early 2024 as the completion date.

A full breakdown of the construction teams:

Kiewit Infrastructure BC ULC
Kiewit Infrastructure BC ULC
McElhanney Engineering Services Ltd.
Mott MacDonald Canada Ltd.
Thurber Engineering Ltd.
Peter Kiewit Sons ULC

Flatiron-Vinci Joint Venture
Flatiron Constructors Canada Ltd.
Vinci Infrastructure Canada Ltd.
Janin Atlas Inc.
Carmacks Enterprises Ltd.
Dodin Quebec Inc.
COWI North America Ltd.
Urban Systems Ltd.
Tetra Tech Canada Inc.
Brybil Projects Ltd.
Wyllie & Norrish Rock Engineers Ltd.
Dynamic Avalanche Consulting Ltd.
6 Point Engineering and Avalanche Consulting Ltd.

Kicking Horse Canyon Constructors
Aecon Constructors
Parsons Inc.
Emil Anderson Construction (EAC) Inc.
EXP Services Inc.