Alberta’s first completed public-private partnership (P3) highway project, the southeast leg of Anthony Henday Drive, is complete and was fully opened to traffic on Oct. 23.
Public Private Partnership
Alberta’s first completed public-private partnership (P3) highway project, the southeast leg of Anthony Henday Drive, is complete and was fully opened to traffic on Oct. 23.
The southeast stretch of Anthony Henday Drive cost $493 million and was built on time and on budget.
The new stretch of highway extends 11 kilometres with six lanes between Highway 2 and 50th Street and four lanes between 50th Street and Highway 14.
The road features 20 bridge structures, including five interchanges and no traffic lights
With two more phases to build, Edmonton’s ring road is designed to eventually circle the city.
The southeast ring road was cost-shared by the province and the federal government through the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF).
The ring road extends 50 kilometres and is 63 per cent complete.
“Anthony Henday Drive southeast is an excellent example of how P3 projects can build critical infrastructure projects on time, on budget and at a significantly lower risk for taxpayers,” said Alina Osorio, CEO of Macquarie Essential Assets Partnership, the company that put up the money for the road and will maintain it for the next 30 years
Stephen Mandel, Edmonton’s mayor is a booster of the project.
“One of the City of Edmonton’s key priorities is the swift completion of Anthony Henday Drive. We are pleased that the province supports this priority and Edmonton is happy to do our part as well on this project,” he said.
“The completion of Anthony Henday Drive reinforces Edmonton’s position as the service hub for northern development and meets the transportation needs of our citizens and the entire capital region.”
The Alberta government is investing $800 million toward the southeast and southwest sections of the highway.
The government has asked three groups to submit proposals to develop the north Edmonton ring road as a P3. A Request for Qualifications was issued in July 2007 and the submissions were evaluated based on experience, qualifications of personnel, past performance, and financial capability.
The groups are consortia composed of financing, construction, design, and maintenance companies. The three groups are:
North Edmonton Road Consortium, led by Acciona S.A. / SNC Lavalin Inc.
Northwest Connect, led by Bilfinger Berger BOT Inc.
Plenary Roads Edmonton, led by Plenary Group (Canada) Ltd.
The Request for Proposals will close in Spring 2008 and bids from the three consortia will then be evaluated to ensure they represent good value for taxpayers.
The successful proponent is expected to be chosen by August 2008, with construction beginning as early as fall 2008. The northern leg of Anthony Henday Drive, expected to be open by 2011
The project will extend from Anthony Henday Drive at Yellowhead Trail on the west side of Edmonton to the Manning Drive Freeway. The 21-kilometre north leg of the ring road will be free-flow with no signal lights and includes eight interchanges and five flyovers, for a total of 27 bridge structures.
To ensure a fair, competitive bidding process, government will not release cost estimates until after the contract is awarded.
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