Consulting Engineers of British Columbia recognize Associated Engineering and Collings Johnston with Award of Excellence

The Consulting Engineers of B.C. presented Associated Engineering and Collings Johnston with an Award of Excellence in the Soft Engineering category at the recent awards gala in Vancouver. We received the award for our work on the development of the Golden Ears Crossing Project.

Located in the Greater Vancouver area in B.C., the new Golden Ears Bridge will cross the Fraser River, connecting Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows on the north to Surrey and Langley on the south.

Artist’s Rendering of Golden Ears Bridge (provided by TransLink)

The project owner, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink) decided to implement the project as a Public Private Partnership. As Technical Manager and Technical Consultant, Collings Johnston and Associated Engineering developed the project scope and concept design, helped to identify risks, and assisted in developing the Request for Qualifications and Proposal documents. The concept design had to be affordable, promote safety, receive support from the four municipalities and numerous stakeholders, and attract qualified bidders. The concept design of the 2.2 kilometre long bridge and associated roads, pedestrian and cyclist facilities, and utilities also had to consider the character of each community and integrate with the existing transportation network.

The Collings Johnston/Associated Engineering team developed an approach that addressed community values and integrated with the design/build/finance/operate delivery approach. This process helped build consensus, and led to a single agreement between TransLink and the four municipalities. Due to an inclusive development process that involved prospective local and international consortia, proponents responded enthusiastically to the project. TransLink has awarded the project to the Golden Crossing Group. Construction has begun, and the new bridge and roadworks are scheduled for completion in 2009.

Led by Robin Johnston of Collings Johnston and Norm D'Andrea of Associated Engineering, this project has involved staff from across the various disciplines in our Burnaby office.

Congratulations to all staff involved on the project, including Lester Marr, Chris Cheng, Grant Harder, Don Kennedy, and Alfred Kao.