Mobilization work, including labour and material procurement, is well under way for the $1.1-billion Golden Ears Bridge construction project.
Conservation Considerations
Project expected to generate $1 billion of economic activity, 6500 job years
Correspondent
Mobilization work, including labour and material procurement, is well under way for the $1.1-billion Golden Ears Bridge construction project.
Following the 200 Street corridor, the Golden Ears Bridge – a one kilometer, six-lane toll crossing of the Fraser River between Maple Ridge and Langley – is earmarked for a mid-2009 completion date.
Golden Crossing Group is finalizing its steel orders and negotiating tenders for the project, which will feature steel-strand cables linked to four concrete piers and concrete deck panels laid into steel framing and supports.
Project manager Terry Cage said the procurement of labour and materials is a challenge for construction projects of any size in Western Canada right now.
According to TransLink, Golden Crossing Group – a consortium of leading transportation design, construction and management firms led by Bilfinger Berger BOT Inc. – is responsible for construction cost over-runs, on-time delivery and operational performance.
“Procurement is very difficult, and we are hoping that innovative design and construction methods will allow us to maintain our margins,” Cage said.
The shortage of labour is posing another challenge. Subcontractors will be required to complete the project, but the degree to which subcontractors will be used is still being finalized, he said.
"Procurement is very difficult . . ."
Terry Cage
“The big thing at the moment, as everyone is aware, is the increase in fuel prices,” Cage noted. “Nobody would have forecast the increases.”
While the big construction push begins later this month, dredging of the river bottom started in February – timed before the start of the fisheries conservation window that closes down in-river work from the end of February to mid-June, he explained.
This month place-marker templates for the bridge pilings will be established, as well as a vibrocompaction process that uses vibrations to compact the river bottom.
Piling work – which will involve a lower-impact boring technique rather than the typical driving in of piles – will likely start in July and continue to the end of February 2007.
At that point, Cage said, it’s hoped the project will be above the river’s surface to avoid any further delays due to fish conservation issues.
Work will begin on the river’s south side – where the main yard is being constructed – and proceed to the north side.
A smaller yard will be built on the Maple Ridge side in August or September, Cage said.
Earlier this year, Golden Crossing won TransLink’s bidding process to design, build, finance, operate, maintain and rehabilitate the bridge and its associated road network for 35 years.
Seen as a key link in the province’s Gateway transportation plan for Greater Vancouver, construction of the Golden Ears Bridge project is expected to generate more than $1 billion of economic activity and 6,500 person-years of employment. >
Golden Ears Bridge will follow the 200 Street corridor, creating a one kilometre, six-lane toll crossing of the Fraser River between Maple Ridge and Langley. The project is slated to be completed by mid-2009.
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