ISSUE #3 2011

TODAYG L O B A L P E R S P E C T I V E . L O C A L F O C U S .

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Located south of Vancouver, the City of Surrey is one of the fastestgrowing communities in BC. To guide its growth, the city has estab-lished strategies for beautification, sustainability, and healthy living.As part of these strategies, the city has implemented a GreenwaysProgram. The Greenways Program will result in the development ofa 200 kilometre network of off-street, multi-use pathways throughoutthe city.

In 2009, the city received $11 million in Federal and Provincial funding (Stimulus Funding) for a suite of pedestrian and cycling projects. Each of the three government partners funded one-third of the projects. Included in this funding was the Tynehead Cyclingand Pedestrian Overpass project, a signature structure crossingHighway 1 at 168 Street.

The City of Surrey retained Associated Engineering, with sub-consultants Perkins+Will Architects, Space2Place, and ThurberEngineering, to provide design and construction services for theTynehead Cycling and Pedestrian Overpass. The TyneheadOverpass is an important part of the planned network, providing a key cycling and pedestrian link between the Fraser Heights neigh-bourhood, Tynehead Regional Park, and the rest of Surrey south ofHighway 1.

Considering the highly visible location of the bridge, the City wanteda signature structure which would be a gateway to the City. The elegant tied arch design of the 120 metre long, three span overpasswas inspired by the silhouette of the mountains north of the FraserRiver. The landscaped approaches and aesthetic form encourage theenjoyment of Surrey’s green spaces and bicycle paths.

The bridge is illuminated at night with an artistic lighting display. Thedesign of the lighting was carefully integrated with the bridge to mini-mize the visual impact of the fixtures and wiring, enhance the form ofthe structure, and minimize distraction and glare for the drivers onHighway 1.

Project Manager Shane Cook tells us, “The design of the bridgeneeded to address many complex constraints and stakeholderconsiderations, including land ownership, a high pressure gas line,the environmentally sensitive Tynehead Park, and the incorporationof public art in the form of lighting. Associated Engineering workedproactively with a variety of stakeholders and the public to ensure thevarious constraints were met.”

Signature Tynehead Pedestrian Bridge is a gateway to theCity of Surrey

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The mining and processing industry in Northern Alberta requires heavy haul roads for mining equipment traffic, which carry loads ashigh as 700 tonnes from a haulpack to 1400 tonnes from a trackedshovel. For Suncor Energy Inc., an integral part of their mining operations required the design and construction of a heavy haulbridge over the Steepbank River, near Fort McMurray, to provideaccess to Suncor’s Steepbank Mine. Design of such bridges requiressome unique considerations and challenges. Suncor retainedAssociated Engineering to complete the preliminary and detaileddesign of the bridge.

Associated Engineering designed the 33 metre span steel girderbridge, which is supported on 20 metre high mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall abutments. Senior Bridge Specialist Bala Balakrishnan says, “The Steepbank River Bridge’s mechanically stabilized earth wall abutments are the tallest built in North America.”Bala continues, “The span length of 33 metres was selected to avoidany in-stream work or disturbance of the river, thus protecting the fish habitat, and to allow for wildlife passage on both banks. The 40 metre-wide roadway allows for two lanes of haulpack traffic. To distribute the heavy wheel loads on to the deck slab, and to dampenthe vibrations, a gravel fill of 1.5 metres was used.”

The MSE wall abutments are true load bearing - the superstructure is supported directly on top of the reinforced soil mass. The bearingpressure of 350 kiloPascals exerted by the superstructure is thehighest on record for a bridge. The base of the 20 metre high soilmass was founded directly on bedrock. To confirm the elevation ofbedrock over the MSE wall foundation area, a geophysical investiga-tion was undertaken using ground penetrating radar (GPR), electricalresistivity tomography (ERT), and refraction seismic methods. Balaexplains, “These are proven techniques for determining depth tobedrock and providing high resolution information of the strata close

to ground surface. The ERT data was found to be accurate withinapproximately 1 metre, compared to the actual bedrock elevationsencountered upon excavation.”

Environmental considerations were para-mount in the design and construction of thebridge. The MSE wall foundation area wasisolated from the river by an excavationsupport system, consisting of steel pilesembedded in holes drilled in limestone andheavy steel plates spanning between thepiles. Bala tells us, “The bridge barrierdesign presented some unique challenges,such as determining the design loads andthe failure modes. Construction challengesincluded protection of fish habitat duringconstruction of the mechanically stabilizedwall foundations below the riverbed eleva-tions, winter construction, and sequencingto provide access across the river at alltimes. To expedite the work, a stay-in-placemetal deck form was used.”

Associated Engineering staff involved onthe project included Leo Panciroli, HelderAfonso, and Luisito Ibalio. KiewitManagement Limited was the contractor.

Bridge to Steepbank Mine features the tallest mechanicallystabilized earth wall abutments in North America

View of stay-in-place formwork and underside of deck

Mechanically stabilized earth wall start up

Tynehead Cycling and Pedestrian Overpass in Surrey, BC

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AE Today is published for employees andfriends of the Associated Engineeringgroup of companies. Visit our web pageat www.ae.ca for past issues of AE Today.

If you have any comments or sugges-tions for future issues, contact your localAssociated Engineering office or:

Lianna Mah, P.Eng., Editor300 - 4940 Canada WayBurnaby, BC V5G 4M5Tel: (604) 293-1411Fax: (604) 291-6163 orEmail us at: aetoday@ae.ca

Associated Engineering Offices

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Comox (250) 339-9896Calgary (403) 262-4500Edmonton (780) 451-7666Fort McMurray (780) 715-3850Kelowna (250) 763-3638Langley (604) 888-3572Lethbridge (403) 329-1404Medicine Hat (403) 528-3771Prince Albert (306) 764-3040Red Deer (403) 314-5327Regina (306) 721-2466Saskatoon (306) 653-4969St. Catharines (905) 346-0990Toronto (416) 622-9502Greater Vancouver (604) 293-1411Vernon (250) 545-3672Whitehorse (867) 456-2711Winnipeg (204) 942-6391Yellowknife (867) 920-4074

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Comox (250) 339-5855Calgary (403) 269-7640Edmonton (780) 454-7698Fort McMurray (780) 715-3851Kelowna (250) 763-8880Lethbridge (403) 329-4745Medicine Hat (403) 528-9701Prince Albert (306) 764-3119Red Deer (403) 314-4968Regina (306) 721-2474Saskatoon (306) 242-4904St. Catharines (905) 346-0992Toronto (416) 622-6249Greater Vancouver (604) 291-6163Vernon (250) 545-3654Whitehorse (604) 291-6163Winnipeg (204) 942-6399

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In This Issue2 New appointments for Garry

Drachenberg and Doug Olson

3 Northwest Stormwater Improvements project provides the Town of Taber with a cost-effective, environmentally friendly drainage solution

4 ViewPoints - Alternate project delivery methods - can they solve the infrastructure deficit in Canada?

5 Fort McMurray’s “Core Team” embraces lifestyle change with a “can do” attitude

6 Profile - Roland Bradshaw enjoys sharing knowledge and experience across the boundaries of an organization

7 Risk-based asset managementprovides organizational barrieragainst compromises to water quality

8 Redevelopment of Riel Park in St. Albert, Alberta provides first-rate facilities

9 Strategy workshops will aid in developing a comprehensive housing strategy

Heavy Urban Search and RescueFacility opens in Vancouver

10 Building Communities

Structural Team wins major awards for bridge design

Dundurn and Area Wastewater Utility receives Saskatchewan Municipal Award for Environmental Stewardship

11 Employee News

12 Bridge to Steepbank Mine features the tallest mechanically stabilized earth wall abutments in North America

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Employee News

Shane continues, “Early in the design phase, theteam recognized that construction over Highway 1and through the ongoing Port Mann Highway 1construction project was going to be a critical constraint. Associated Engineering began talksimmediately with Transportation InvestmentCorporation (the Port Mann Highway 1 projectmanagers), and Kiewit Flatiron (the Port MannHighway 1 contractor.)”

The design needed to accommodate multipleHighway 1 lane configurations and minimizeimpacts on Highway 1 traffic during construction.The concrete substructure was situated to suit thecurrent and future lane configurations and was constructed within temporary staging areas, result-ing in minimal impact on Highway 1 traffic. Thesteel superstructure was designed to be assembledadjacent to the highway and lifted into position,once complete. As a result, the impacts to Highway1 traffic were limited to two, four hour detours.During construction, the work was scheduled toavoid conflicts with the Highway 1 construction.

Shane notes, “Proactive communication with stake-holders fostered a spirit of goodwill, and all of thestakeholders were very cooperative throughoutconstruction.”

Construction of the $5.5 million project began inOctober 2010. The bridge was opened to the public in June 2011, and is already a landmark on the morning traffic reports.

Key Associated Engineering staff involved on thisproject during design and construction includedShane Cook, Mingyu Li, Leslie Mihalik, DavidHarvey, Nik Cuperlovic, Jack Jiao, James Nikolai,Karam Bahi, and Victor Yin.

Tynehead Pedestrian Bridge crossesHighway 1, connecting Tynehead RegionalPark with the Fraser Heights neighbourhood

Congratulations to Bill De Angelis, MBA, P.Eng., Vice President & GeneralManager of Associated Engineering’s Ontario operation on his election asChair of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) Board of Directors. Billhas over 30 years experience in both the public and private sectors andwill be an asset to the CEO as Chair.

Bert Munro, P.Eng., Vice President & General Managerof Associated Engineering’s Saskatchewan operation,recently received the McCannel Award. This award is

presented annually to honour service to the Association of ProfessionalEngineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan, and to the Professions asa whole. The McCannel Award is named after Roy McCannel, a foundingmember of the Association.

Congratulations to Marvin Loewen, Limited Member (Engineering), PMP,on his recent registration with the Association of Professional Engineersand Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). Marvin is the BranchManager for all the offices in the Saskatchewan operation and has over 20years of experience in land development, asset management, infrastruc-ture rehabilitation, and program management.

Michelle Guy, P.L.S., P.E., P.Eng., has joined ourYellowknife office as a Senior Project Manager.

Michelle will focus on project management, and business development in the Northwest Territories. Michelle has over 25 years experience in commercial and residential site development, as well as diverse civil engineering projects.

Edith Asselin, M.Eng., P.Eng., LEED AP, has been promoted to Manager of the Water and Wastewater/EI&C Group inEdmonton. Edith is a Process Design Engineer and Project Manager with experience in all phases of project development, from planning and process design through to construction. Recently, as Senior ProjectManager, Edith managed the Water Treatment Plant Expansion in FortMcMurray.

Klas Ohman, Ph.D., P.Eng., has joined our Calgaryoffice as a Senior Water & Environmental Engineer. Klas specializes insolid waste management, wastewater treatment, and water treatment. Hehas worked as an environmental instructor in SAIT’s Chemistry,Engineering, and Petroleum programs, and in the consulting engineeringsector on water, wastewater, and contaminated sites projects. He is thecurrent Chair of the Drinking Water Quality Committee for the CanadianWater and Wastewater Association.

Associated Engineering opens new office in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Associated Engineering is pleased to announce the opening of our new Winnipeg office. Our team iscomprised of (l-r in photo left) JeffO’Driscoll, P.Eng., Branch Manager;Bert Munro, P.Eng., FCSCE, VicePresident & General Manager; KenAnderson, P.Eng., Water GroupManager; and Darcy Robinson,P.Eng., LEED AP, EIC GroupManager.

The address for our Winnipeg office is: 203 - Number Five Donald Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3L 2T4 Phone: 204-942-6391, Fax: 204-942-6399

Garry Drachenberg,P.Eng. has more than25 years experience,with a diverse consult-ing background in water and wastewaterengineering. Garry hasbeen responsible forproject management,multi-discipline projectcoordination, staff coordination, andprocess/mechanical design of water and waste-water treatment projects. He has authored and presented many papers on water supply and treatment, lectured on water treatment at theNorthern Alberta Institute of Technology, and has

taught the AlbertaWater and WastewaterOperators certificationcourses.

Doug Olson, P.Eng.has over 20 years ofexperience in watersupply, water treatment,pumping stations,municipal, and irrigation projects. With a diversebackground in project

management, project engineering, processmechanical design, and water resources design.Doug has a proven ability to cover projects fromproject feasibility studies to plant start-up and commissioning services, and project completion.

Garry Drachenberg and Doug Olson providewater expertise across the AssociatedEngineering group of companiesKerry Rudd, President & CEO, is pleased to announce the appointments of Garry Drachenberg, P.Eng. tothe position of Water Practice and Operations Leader, and Doug Olson, P.Eng. to the position of WaterTechnical Leader for the Associated Engineering group of companies. Congratulations to both Garry andDoug in their new roles.

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Structural team wins major awards for bridge design Northwest Stormwater Improvements project provides theTown of Taber with a cost-effective, environmentally friendlydrainage solution

Congratulations to our Structuralteam, which has recently been recog-nized with two awards. AlbertaTransportation presented anInnovation Award to AssociatedEngineering for the design of Pre-CastBridge Deck Panels on two newbridge interchange projects, atCallingwood Road and Lessard Roadover Anthony Henday Drive. The project was managed by DusankaStevanovic, with design led by BalaBalakrishnan, inspections by ElizabethDeVries and Michelle Dufrat-Jarvis,and Adam Rees as lead CAD

designer. The team was also honoured with a 2011 Award ofExcellence in Concrete from theAlberta Chapter of the AmericanConcrete Institute for the DunveganSuspension Bridge DeckReplacement project. The project wasmanaged by John Fussell and TaraAlexander, design led by BalaBalakrishnan, with Adam Firth as site inspector, and Adam Rees as lead CAD designer.

Left - Bala Balakrishnan receives ACI2011 Award of Excellence in Concrete

For many years, the southern Alberta Town of Taber has experiencedsignificant storm drainage issues. An update to the Town’sInfrastructure Master Plan (IMP) in 2007 identified a growing need toupgrade the Town’s major storm sewer trunks. Expanding residentialdevelopment adjacent to the north-west trunk sewer and increasingseverity of on-street ponding movedthe storm sewer upgrade higher onthe priority list.

In 2008 the town approachedAssociated Engineering to reviewdrainage upgrading options. A videoinspection of the existing 3.5 kilome-tre, 1350 millimetre diameter, corru-gated steel pipe (CSP) trunk sewershowed that the 40 year-old pipewas in poor structural condition.

Associated Engineering explored various upgrading alternatives,including additional storm ponds, to reduce the load on the overtaxedsystem. Ultimately, due to existingground elevations, the ponds wererejected and the decision was made to install new pipe on an adjacent alignment and abandon the existing trunk.

While the town had initially adopted a phased approach due to funding constraints, when Building Canada Funding became available, the decision was made to apply for the full project scope.Detailed design began, and by December 2009, a single contract for the installation of 3500 metres of concrete pipe, varying from 1500 millimetre to 450 millimetre diameter, was tendered. A secondaryhighway crossing added another 75metres of 1500 millimetre diameterconcrete jacking pipe. The installa-tion of this section was competed bytunnel boring and pipe jacking. At thestorm outlet, the new 1500 millimetreconcrete pipe had to tie to an exist-ing 900 CSP pipe at the top of acoulee, which dropped 30 metres tothe existing energy dissipater struc-ture at a steep 46% slope. ProjectManager Nancy Green tells us, “Thistie-in faced design and constructionchallenges in the significant gradechange and stormwater hydraulics,combined with the location at the topof the coulee.”

“A 5 metre-long, custom, steel reducing elbow was designed –

fabricated locally and welded and bolted to flanges at the CSP andconcrete pipe.”

Since the design was increasing the flow rate for the stormwater, theenergy dissipater at the bottom of the coulee also had to be replaced

with a larger structure. A precaststructure was designed for ease andspeed of installation, as it had to tieto the existing 900 CSP pipe while infull service. The increase in flowsalso triggered a new water licencerequirement from AlbertaEnvironment. Nancy says, “AlbertaEnvironment required an assessmentof the impact to the downstreamchannel, approximately 1.5 kilome-tres to the Oldman River mouth.Summit Environmental Consultants(an AE subsidiary) assisted with thisassessment, and provided recom-mendations to mitigate negative erosion impacts to the coulee banks.”Associated Engineering worked withthe town’s Sustainable ResourcesCoordinator, in conjunction with local

environmental groups, to assist in planting willow branches along thechannel bank to fulfill one of Summit’s recommendations.

With depths of up to seven metres, in challenging soil conditions,construction along the existing residential streets required removaland replacement of existing curb and sidewalk, and some dewateringof the existing saturated sands.

Nancy tells us, “The design called for in situ filling of the existing 1350 millimetre CSP trunk main. The contractor came forward with anoption of using Cematrix fill, whichwas reviewed and adopted for theproject, and proved to be a veryeffective means of filling the pipe insitu.”

This project was originally estimatedat $8.9 million, with completion inmultiple phases over multiple years.With the approval of the InfrastructureStimulus Funding, the entire systemwas designed and constructed for$7.3 million.

Associated Engineering staff involvedon this project included NancyGreen, Gord Roberts, EJ White,Kristi Stickel-Burke, Dean Maruyama,Greg Brouwer, and Larry Bodnaruk.

View from the top of the coulee - steel fitting to tie the concretepipe and existing CSP pipe that outlets at the bottom of theslope.

Installation of 1500 millimetre diameter pipe, six metres deep in existing 56th Avenue

Associated Engineering raises over $24,000 for the CanadianCancer Society Relay for Life

Led by Bert Munro, Vice President and General Manager of ourSaskatchewan operation, Associated Engineering raised more than$24,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society in the annual Relay forLife. Thank you to all Associated Engineering staff, family, friends,clients, suppliers, and contractors, who helped us to set yet anotherrecord for fundraising. We are all heroes to those living with cancer.

Associated Engineering staff share their time and talents at our localuniversities and colleges

Many of our staff contribute their time to local universities and colleges, serving as adjunct professors, sitting on committees, andguest lecturing. Their involvement is a testament to their expertise,and commitment to our educational institutions. Kudos to the follow-ing staff for their dedication to educating the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technologists:

Dean Shiskowski, Ph.D., P.Eng. - Adjunct Professor of EnvironmentalEngineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at UBC.Graduate student research advisory committee and examinationcommittee member at University of Wisconsin, Madison and UBC.

Bosco Tong, M.Sc., MBA, P.E., P.T.O.E., P.Eng. - Adjunct Professorat Tongji University in Shanghai and guest lectures at the Universityof New Brunswick.

Anna Comerton, Ph.D., P.Eng. - Adjunct Professor at University of Toronto.

Brian Guy, Ph.D., P.Geo., P.H. - Adjunct professor at the University of Northern British Columbia, and Water Chair to the advisory committee at UBC Okanagan.

Lianna Mah, M.Eng., P.Eng. - Guest lectures at UBC and BCIT.

Clint Smyth, Ph.D., P.Biol. - Teaches courses at the University ofLethbridge, University of Calgary, and University of Victoria.

Bert Munro, P.Eng., FCSCE, FEC - Guest lectures at University ofSaskatchewan, Dean Search Committee for the College ofEngineering at the University of Saskatchewan, SIAST AdvisoryBoard for Civil and Water Resources Technology Programs.

Martin Jobke, P.Eng. - BCIT Civil program advisory committee.

Greg Kaupp, C.E.T. and Kristie Stickle-Burke, C.Tech - LethbridgeCommunity College Engineering Design and Drafting TechnologyAdvisory Committee.

The Town of Dundurn, RegionalMunicipalities of Dundurn, and the ResortVillages of Thode and Shields received the2011 Environmental Stewardship Award fortheir Joint Sanitary Sewer System project.This award recognizes municipal practicesthat demonstrate the municipal corpora-tion's work as a steward of the environ-ment, or the municipal corporation's effortsto encourage environmental sustainabilitywithin their community. Associated

Engineering was retained by the Dundurnand Area Wastewater Utility to investigatewastewater collection, treatment, and disposal alternatives, using a regionalapproach. Project Manager Darrell Rinastells us, “As a result of the collaborationbetween the communities on a regionalwastewater management system, eachcommunity will have an affordable and sustainable wastewater management solution.”

Dundurn and Area Wastewater Utility receives SaskatchewanMunicipal Award for Environmental Stewardship

Building CommunitiesLagoon treatment cell

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There is no clear definition of what constitutes an alternate projectdelivery method but anything that is not strictly traditionaldesign/bid/build could be included, such as value engineering and design/build.

In this ViewPoints, we will examine public/private partnerships (P3s).The public-private continuum covers a range of contracting formsfrom fully public to fully private. But first, what is a Public/PrivatePartnership? Again there are many definitions, but one fromPartnerships BC captures the spirit of a P3:

A public/private partnership is a legally-binding contractbetween government and business for the provision of assetsand the delivery of services that allocates responsibilities andbusiness risks among the various partners. (from Partnerships BC – www.partnershipsbc.ca)

In any form of project delivery, the best outcome is when risk is allocated to the party best able to manage that risk. Provided that therisks can be quantified and priced, the private sector is more thanwilling to assume responsibility for risks. The challenge in theprocess is the allocation of these risks. An example in your privatelife is car insurance – you can buy a policy that has a zero deduciblefor glass and tires, but can you afford the premium for this level of coverage? Instead, you do some risk management, even subcon-sciously, by thinking about the number of windshields and tires youhave replaced previously and the likelihood you are going to be driving in a location that will increase this sort of damage. The sameanalysis applies to P3s.

This type of analysis is included in avalue-for-money analysis – often called a public sector comparator. What will itcost to deliver the project as a P3 overthe term of the contract, compared to what it would cost as a traditionaldesign/bid/build project with operationsand maintenance included in the waythey are normally provided? The challenge is that risks have not normallybeen included in project analyses, soidentifying and quantifying project risks is a whole new challenge for most engineering staff in government agencies.

P3’s have been described as a panaceafor the infrastructure deficit in Canada –but are they really? In most cases there is no new money generated, so the advantages of a P3 must come in otherways, such as more effective solutionsthat can come from having the designer,contractor, and operator all workingtogether. It is important to remember that a P3 creates long-term financial

obligations – in most ways, it’s no different than borrowing the money.

Probably the greatest factor for success is the ability to clearly definethe project – through all of its phases. As in design/build, “wants” and“needs” should be clarified. “Needs” are minimum performancerequirements, such as the number of lanes on a highway. “Wants”

are essentially prescribed preferences,such as the colour of the handrails, andhave no place in the overall P3 process.A P3 needs to be performance-based;just because that is the way you havedone it for 50 years is not sufficient.There is a loss of flexibility to adapt tochanges in the environment of the proj-ect. Changes can be made, but unlesscontemplated by the ConcessionAgreement, they can be difficult tonegotiate and price. Since the term of the agreement will often be 30 or moreyears, there may be a certain level ofclairvoyance needed to adequatelyscope the project. Projects are cost driven so they will be designed and constructed to a level that provides minimum compliance. For transportationprojects, changes in functionality orcapacity can usually be accommodatedover the life of the project, but for watersupply or treatment facilities, capacity orregulatory changes may be much moredifficult to make.

Alternative project delivery methods - can they solve theinfrastructure deficit in Canada?

ViewPoints

by John Fussell, P.Eng. and James Thomas, B.E.

(continued on page 5)

In early 2011 the Honourable June Draude, Minister of SocialServices and Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan HousingCorporation (SHC), announced thedevelopment of a comprehensiveprovincial housing strategy for release in June 2011. Housing sector stakeholders were invited to a number of consultation sessions in several communities around theprovince in March and April, 2011.Associated Engineering was commissioned by the Ministry ofSocial Services to facilitate consulta-tions, based on our background inpublic consultation facilitation, housing, municipal planning and engineering, policy development, and subdivision development.

A Provincial Housing StrategyWorking Group (Working Group) led the overall process and provided the best practice research and technical analysis to supportthe consultations and comprehensive housing strategy development.Associated Engineering supported the Working Group’s efforts byinforming plans for the consultations, preparing a communicationplan, facilitating the sessions, recording discussions, and preparing a report and presentation on the results of the consultations.Associated Engineering provided two facilitators, Monique Kealeyand Gary Coons, and a Project Planner, Jennifer Blomme, who prepared the consultation report.

Monique says, “During the consultation workshops, we fostered dialogue in a structured environment that provided opportunity for

all participants to participate in a safe and welcoming environment.

The workshops commenced with a team building exercise to buildrapport with participants. A mix ofbreak-out sessions and group discus-sions were used to discuss solutionsto current issues in the housing sectorand what role each might play in real-izing these solutions.”

A total of over 350 stakeholdersattended the sessions in ten communities. Participants had opportunity to rank the priority of previously identified issues, identifysolutions, and discuss their role inhousing. Another thirty attended aninter-ministry session to focus onhousing solutions within the provincialgovernment.

The workshops provided a forum for representatives of a variety ofstakeholder groups to gather and discuss the housing issues thataffect them, their communities, and regions. It was evident from thediscussions that different levels of need exist across the province,and the housing issues will require a context-tailored approach tomove forward in addressing the issues rather than a “one size fits all”solution. Although a wide array of perspectives were presented at theworkshops, significant themes emerged throughout the consultationprocess and were used for the formation of a housing strategy.

Associated Engineering prepared a report that summarized the feedback provided during the consultation proceedings. This reportinformed the housing strategy that has recently been released.

Strategy workshops will aid in developing a comprehensivehousing strategy

On May 4, 2011, the City of Vancouver officially opened the HeavyUrban Search and Rescue Facility, a storage and training centre forVancouver-based Canada Task Force One. The facility will provide a permanent location for the urban search and rescue team to storetheir equipment and vehicles, as well as providing a location for

training. Associated Engineering designed and oversaw constructionof the building’s site servicing and grading.

Associated Engineering, working with Colborne Architectural Groupfor the City of Vancouver, designed sanitary sewer, storm sewer, andwater service connections, and the proposed paving and sidewalkaround the building for the new facility. The design was led by ProjectManager Dieter Diedericks, with Everett Dion serving as lead designer.When the project moved to construction in November of 2010, StuartNash served as the client contact and construction inspector. Stuartadvises, “Associated Engineering was a resource for discussionswith the City on site issues that came up during construction, includ-ing water service configuration and water meter location, sanitarysewer connections and an abandoned gas line that was found onsite.” Everett adds, “The challenges for this project included soil conditions, coordination with shallow utilities, and tying into the existing infrastructure. These were mitigated by doing geotechnicalanalysis, gathering record drawings, and placing the BC1 call.”

The facility was constructed by KDS Construction, with site servicinginstallation completed by CG Excavating.

Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Facility opens in VancouverOpening day of the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Facility

Sea-to-Sky Highway - Associated Engineering led thedesign team in a modified alliance contract approach.During the design/build phase, Associated Engineeringwas retained as the Independent Certifier. Currently, we are working with the operator and maintenance con-tractor as the structural engineer of record - a rolerequiring us to assist in development of short-term andlong-term asset management plans, as well as inspectall structures on a defined schedule.

Golden Ears Bridge - Associated Engineering worked with the Owner,Translink, during the concept development, P3 procurement phase, andimplementation of this innovative and award-winning project. During concept development, we undertook feasibility studies of appropriatebridge designs to confirm the preliminary cost estimates, and developedthe reference designs for the connecting highway network. During thedesign/build phase, Associated Engineering provided technical servicesto Translink, reviewing design drawings and providing oversight of qualityassurance and project controls.

Workshops, like the one above, provided forum for discussion

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St. Albert, Alberta’s Riel Park Redevelopment provides community with first-rate recreational facility

Aerial photo of Riel Park, Phase II construction, September 2010

Under most P3s, the asset reverts to public ownership at the conclusion of the operating period. After 30 years, most of these assets are only in mid-life and should continue to provide continuing value to the taxpayers. Hand-back criteria are includedin the P3 to capture the residual value at the end of the concessionperiod. No one wants to get back an asset which is physically worn-out and requires significant rehabilitation to realize the remainder of its useful life. However, there is also a cost associatedwith setting overly onerous hand-back standards. For the currentround of P3s, the design/build phase appears to have been relativelysuccessful, but we will really only know in 30 years time, at hand-back of the infrastructure, whether they were truly successful anddelivered value to the taxpayer.

Associated Engineering has experience in evaluating, specifying, and monitoring P3s through our roles on projects ranging from proponent team member, Owner’s Engineer, Owner’s technical consultant, Independent Certifier, and Lender’s technical advisoryteam member.

About the authors:John Fussell, P.Eng. is a Senior Bridge Engineerand Project Manager. He has managed a widevariety of transportation projects, delivered conventionally and through alternate deliveryprocesses. As Vice President, Transportation,John is involved in all alternative delivery transportation projects undertaken by Associated Engineering.

James Thomas, B.E. is aSenior Bridge Engineer and Project Manager.James coordinated delivery of AssociatedEngineering’s design services on the Port MannHighway 1 project in Vancouver, a $3.3 billiondesign/build, and developed Owner’s EngineerManagement Processes for delivery of the DehCho Bridge Construction Phase II ($75 milliontraditional contract), near Fort Providence, NWT.

ViewPoints (continued from page 4)

Alternative project delivery methodsThe redevelopment of Riel Park, in St. Albert, Alberta is attractingathletes and fans with its new facilities that, when completed, willfeature an outstanding multipurpose artificial field, rugby and soccerfacilities, an upgraded 92-stall RV campground, banquet facility, androdeo grounds.

Riel Park was originally used as a sewage lagoon and dry landfilluntil the mid-1980’s when it was reclaimed to the environmental standards of the time. In early 2000, a concern was raised as towhether the landfill needed further remediation. In addressing thisenvironmental concern, the City completed the Riel LandfillManagement Plan. The plan called for a number of additional landfillinitiatives to be undertaken by the City, one of which included theredevelopment (capping) of the site to prevent the migration of water into the landfill. With this initiative, City Council recognized anopportunity to significantly enhance the site’s facilities and developeda four-phase approach to site remediation and redevelopment.

Associated Engineering has been involved with the Riel ParkRedevelopment for the City of St. Albert since 2006. During that time,the role has evolved. Project Engineer Greg Edwards explains, “In2006, Associated Engineering was retained by the City to participatein the servicing report for the redevelopment. In 2007, we wereretained by EIDOS Consulting to participate in the design and construction of Stage 1 Redevelopment, and in 2009, we wereretained by the City of St. Albert as the coordinating consultantresponsible for design of Stages 2, 3, and 4 and construction ofStage 2.

“The main focus of the project,” Greg says, “was to increase the clay cap over the previously closed landfill. The cap was required toprevent water from entering the landfill, thus reducing potentialleachate. This, compounded with the fact that the site was occupiedby a number of community user groups, created many challenges.”

The City’s second mandate was to reinstate the user group facilities on top of the newly capped landfill surface.

Stage 1 was constructed in 2008 and included the following:

! Overall capping and grading

! Stormwater management

! Development of a 92-stall, full-service RV Park. Work included

water, sewer, power, shower house, and sewage pumping station

! Development of a 1.4 hectare event parking surface

! Roadways and underground utilities

! Multi-use sports field including a field under-drain system, a maintenance building, and bleachers.

Stage 2 design commenced in 2009 with construction in the spring of2010. The project was completed in the spring of 2011 and includedthe following:

! Capping and grading

! Redevelopment of the rodeo grounds, complete with a new arena, cattle handling facilities, grandstands, and event parking area

! Redevelopment of the BMX facility, which included a 152 square metre building to house bike rentals, repair shop, and concession area. The track was redesigned as an international-calibre track using Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI, or International Cycling Union) Standards

! Development of Rotary Park, which spans an area of approximately3.5 hectares, contains numerous BBQ pads, and is deemed as the entrance point to the Lois Hole Provincial Park

! Construction of a washroom facility located on the Stage 1 multi- use sports field site.

Stage 3 and 4 design has been completed with construction scheduled for the fall of 2012 and the spring of 2013. Works willinclude:

! Capping and grading

! Reconstruction of four premium rugby fields

! Reconstruction of four premium soccer fields and three smaller practice fields

! A complete automated irrigation system for both sites.

Project team members were Chris Skowronski, Greg Edwards,Hitendra Patel, Owen Mierke, Dino Borelli, Mario Mendoza, JeremyPetzold, Helder Afonso, Caitlin Luo, Larry Papke, Terry Mitchell,Katherine Bobbitt, Alicia Dmytruk, and Judy Arychuk.

In 2010, the Regional Municipalityof Wood Buffalo in NorthernAlberta retained AssociatedEngineering as its ProgramManager Partner, to assist inplanning and developing its infra-structure program. As part of ourrole, Associated Engineering hassix staff working directly in theRMWB engineering office in FortMcMurray. This group of five arethe “Core Team” and they workclosely with the RMWBEngineering office to assist indelivering the municipal engineer-ing services to the general public.The Core team participates in capital contract drawingreviews, subdivision approval reviews, infrastructure master planningreviews, Municipal Development Planning creation, capital budgetrequests, capital budget amendments, pre-design of capital projects,and filing of as-builts drawings. The Core Team includes CivilTechnicians Everett Dion and Jan Nuer; and Civil Engineers DerekFalardeau-Mercier, Jason Vanderzwaag, and Masrur Askar.

With three main areas of service delivery (development services,infrastructure planning and design, and project management andcapital project), the office currently manages approximately $300 million of new municipal infrastructure capital projects annually.

The Core Team assists in any area requested by the RMWB management, and is backed up by our Edmonton-based “Resources

Team”, headed by Nelson DosSantos, P.Eng., under the overalldirection of Group Manager JeffFetter. Herb Kuehne, VicePresident, Civil Infrastructure, isthe Corporate Sponsor overseeingthe team.

For the Core Team, moving to andliving in Fort McMurray has beenan adjustment. Everett Dion advis-es, “One of my favourite thingsabout Fort McMurray is actuallyone of the things I was afraid ofbefore moving here - the weather.While it does get very cold, -45˚Cwith wind-chill is the coldest I per-sonally have experienced, there

are other things that make up for it. I have been able to drive onseasonal ice roads to Fort Chipewyan over a frozen lake, seenamazing northern lights which take over the entire sky, and enjoydays with 18 hours of sunlight.” Jason Vanderzwaag adds, “Thereare a variety of opportunities and activities offered here. From a workperspective, I am constantly taking on tasks that put my skills to test.Fort McMurray has a lot of things going on. With a growth rate thatis the highest in Canada, near 10%, when the rest of Canada andthe US economies are struggling, Fort McMurray has appeal. Thiswinter the municipality sponsored the largest outdoor hockey game inAlberta, the “Winter Classic”, which broke attendance records withjust over 5,000 people. Everett says, “Those who live here are quiteproud of Fort McMurray.”

Fort McMurray’s “Core Team” embraces lifestyle changewith a “can do” attitude

AE Core Team with RMWB engineering team.

TODAY

6

www.ae.ca

7

Roland Bradshaw enjoys sharing knowledge and experience

Our clients recognize that their mandate to provide high quality, safe drinkingwater requires them to continuouslyapply themselves to developing the trustand confidence of their water utility customers.

Developing this trust against a back-ground of highly publicized water qualityincidents in recent years, including somewith tragic results, has led to anincreased emphasis in the water sectorto explicitly assess and manage risks.The need for systematic and systemicassessment and management of publichealth risk has been documented in theBonn Charter and the World HealthOrganization Guidelines for DrinkingWater Quality, which introduce the concept of Drinking Water SafetyPlans based on source-to-tap risk assessments. These risk assess-ments relate to service indicators based on asset management andoperational performance in four principal areas:

• Water quality from the assets

• Capacity of assets and networks available to meet demand (availability)

• Reliability of the assets and networks to supply the required service levels

• Customer satisfaction.

Risk management is pursued, in part, through investments in physical, human, information, and intangible assets to eliminate,reduce, isolate, and control risk to mitigate it to an acceptable level of risk. When optimally designed and applied, these risk manage-ment tools create barriers to immediate and chronic hazards, andsufficiently reduce the probability of hazard exposure during normaland adverse operating conditions.

Risk assessments are developed based on knowledge and insightsfrom adverse experience across the industry and emphasize the ability to learn from problem situations and failures. This processrequires asking the right questions and using appropriate tools andmodels. We achieve this by identifying and analysing root causes,including people factors, technology, organizational factors, and theenvironment in which past incidents unfolded. As such, risk assess-ments identify the chains of causation, shortcomings, and conflictingrequirements.

Once the assessment is complete, the risk management process isadvanced by determining the system improvements that will guardagainst recurrence.

Considering the significant investment in physical assets necessaryto achieve water safety objectives, risk management strategies haveto be framed in the context of best practice asset management.Asset management is typically defined as systematic and coordinatedpractices, through which an organization optimally manages its physical assets, their associated performance, risks, and expenditures

over their life cycle, to achieve its organi-zational strategic plan or objective. Froma water safety perspective, this definitionplaces risk management, including identi-fication, assessment, and control, at thecentre of asset management and the avail-ability and quality of risk data at the centreof asset decision making.

Managing risk in the face of finiteresources has long been an implicit component of asset management in thewater sector. On-going demand for finan-cial self-sufficiency and controlled pricinghas created a climate in which our clientshave to rigorously evaluate spending onboth capital investment and operation/maintenance budgets, without compro-

mising either the public health or the facilities’ impact on the environ-ment. Screening out all risk to public health is unachievable, butexcessive levels of risk are not acceptable. Thus, asset managementis becoming an increasingly recognized approach to optimize costswhile achieving the desired mitigation of risk.

This risk-based asset management approach provides an organiza-tional barrier against compromises in water quality that is additionalto those provided by the established multi-barrier, source-to-tapmechanisms. Drinking Water Safety Plans, and their risk manage-ment component, help our clients to assess how successfully watersupply assets function in the provision of safe drinking water.

Beyond the technological and organizational mechanisms describedabove, we consider the provision of safe drinking water to be a ‘highreliability’ societal service, provided by organizations who emphasize:

• A strong organizational culture of reliability

• Continuous learning and intensive training

• Effective and varied patterns of communication

• Adaptable decision making dynamics

• Flexible organizational structures

• System and human redundancy (retained margins of safety)

• Precise procedures for managing technology and

• Human resource management practices that support reliability.

Associated Engineering understands these technological, organiza-tional, and cultural needs to support our clients. We can provide business and engineering solutions that achieve these water sectorobjectives as part of our integrated asset management and engineer-ing approach.

For more information on water safety risk assessments and watersector asset management solutions, contact Roland Bradshaw,EngD, MBA, CEng, at 905.346.0990 (bradshawr@ae.ca). Rolandreceived his Engineering Doctorate in Risk-Based AssetManagement. His research was sponsored by AWWA.

Risk-based asset management provides organizational barrier against compromises to water qualityWhile working for an infrastructure surveying group in France, just

after leaving high school, RolandBradshaw realized he wanted to bean engineer. Roland explains, “Thegroup I was working with wasresponsible for assessing roads andbridges to ensure they complied withNATO standards. It was a prettyexciting and rewarding assignment.”Roland received sponsorship fromthe Armed Forces to study environ-mental engineering, “a focus area”,he tells us, “that was pretty signifi-cant, considering the Eastern block countries which soon were to join the European Union and NATO.” In return for the sponsorship, Rolandjoined a military training program andbecame an infrastructure officerstudying military strategy and tactics,the use of civil infrastructure for military purposes, and the large-scaledeployment of troops and combat equipment for military operations.

Roland completed his undergraduate studies in EnvironmentalEngineering in Germany and then returned to the UK to undertake aMaster of Science degree.

After graduation, he joined MWH, an American consulting firm with alarge subsidiary in the United Kingdom, as a junior engineer. Rolandsays, “The company had just been awarded a multi-million dollar program management contract for managing the needs assessmentprocess, preliminary design, and construction for a large water utility.The opportunities in the company were endless, and career progres-sion was determined by how much effort individuals put into theirjobs. Within 18 months of employment, Iwas given the opportunity to manage designprojects, and after 3 years I was the ProjectEngineer on a 20 million Pound (Sterling)design and construction contract.”

Based on his academic background, Rolandwas always more attracted to work in anadvisory role. He explains, “Advisory rolesprovide the opportunity to share knowledgeand experience across the boundaries of anorganization. It provides the opportunity towork on projects, deliver them, and moveon, while at the same time learning newthings from clients.”

In 2008, Roland had plans to move fromEurope to Canada. At the time, there was ahuge demand for engineers and the Consulting Engineers of Albertawere recruiting in England. Roland advises, “I first met AssociatedEngineering staff through the CEA recruitment in England. I waseager to work for Associated Engineering. In particular, I was excitedabout promoting asset management services as a strategicallyadvantageous service that generates more opportunities for our traditional service spectrum.

Two years later, I joined the Associated Engineering AssetManagement Group in St.Catharines.”

Roland has written a significant num-ber of business proposals promotingour asset management support serv-ices. Within the first few months of his arrival in Canada, he wrote a proposal to develop a Utility MasterPlanning Approach and decision-making support toolbox for theAlberta Capital Region WastewaterCommission. Roland says, “This wasan exciting work and I put a lot ofeffort into winning this project. Call it luck or a blessing, we did win theproject and we developed an entiresoftware application suite for infra-structure needs and risk assess-ments, as well as a capital and financial planning function. This project was not only something

completely novel to our client, but also to our staff delivering the project, and we all had the opportunity to learn about advanced assetmanagement approaches.”

Roland’s role at Associated Engineering has a national mandate topromote our asset management services amongst our offices andclients. Although he works on projects in Ontario, he spends themajority of his time on business development and supporting projectteams across the company.

When asked about his philosophy regarding work and mentoring,Roland tells us, “One of my core philosophies is a commitment to

continuous professional development. I gothe extra mile to share my knowledge andexperience with staff and clients. As a men-tor myself, I understand the importance ofhelping our junior staff get a professionalperspective on their roles as engineers andthe responsibilities our profession carries.”

Although work keeps Roland busy, heenjoys his free time with his wife Lilie, andtheir one-year-old daughter, Shoshanah. Hehas a small vegetable and herb garden thathe tends to, and also enjoys painting andreading. Roland tells us, “Painting hasbecome one of my favourite hobbies and anumber of my paintings decorate our home.”

As for advice for young technologists andengineers entering the consulting engineering field, Roland replies,“The transition from university to working in a professional environ-ment can be pretty challenging and there is risk that junior staff findthemselves lost. I recommend asking your supervisor for a buddy ormentor who can show you the ropes. After all, we want to make surethat you are happy with your career choice. Having said that, youalso need to stick with your choice to build up your professional portfolio that sets the cornerstones of your long-term career.”

Roland’s wife, Lilie, one year old daughter, Shoshanah, andRoland.

Painting by Roland Bradshaw, entitled “House ofPrayer”, inspired by a synagogue he visited inBerlin.

TODAY

6

www.ae.ca

7

Roland Bradshaw enjoys sharing knowledge and experience

Our clients recognize that their mandate to provide high quality, safe drinkingwater requires them to continuouslyapply themselves to developing the trustand confidence of their water utility customers.

Developing this trust against a back-ground of highly publicized water qualityincidents in recent years, including somewith tragic results, has led to anincreased emphasis in the water sectorto explicitly assess and manage risks.The need for systematic and systemicassessment and management of publichealth risk has been documented in theBonn Charter and the World HealthOrganization Guidelines for DrinkingWater Quality, which introduce the concept of Drinking Water SafetyPlans based on source-to-tap risk assessments. These risk assess-ments relate to service indicators based on asset management andoperational performance in four principal areas:

• Water quality from the assets

• Capacity of assets and networks available to meet demand (availability)

• Reliability of the assets and networks to supply the required service levels

• Customer satisfaction.

Risk management is pursued, in part, through investments in physical, human, information, and intangible assets to eliminate,reduce, isolate, and control risk to mitigate it to an acceptable level of risk. When optimally designed and applied, these risk manage-ment tools create barriers to immediate and chronic hazards, andsufficiently reduce the probability of hazard exposure during normaland adverse operating conditions.

Risk assessments are developed based on knowledge and insightsfrom adverse experience across the industry and emphasize the ability to learn from problem situations and failures. This processrequires asking the right questions and using appropriate tools andmodels. We achieve this by identifying and analysing root causes,including people factors, technology, organizational factors, and theenvironment in which past incidents unfolded. As such, risk assess-ments identify the chains of causation, shortcomings, and conflictingrequirements.

Once the assessment is complete, the risk management process isadvanced by determining the system improvements that will guardagainst recurrence.

Considering the significant investment in physical assets necessaryto achieve water safety objectives, risk management strategies haveto be framed in the context of best practice asset management.Asset management is typically defined as systematic and coordinatedpractices, through which an organization optimally manages its physical assets, their associated performance, risks, and expenditures

over their life cycle, to achieve its organi-zational strategic plan or objective. Froma water safety perspective, this definitionplaces risk management, including identi-fication, assessment, and control, at thecentre of asset management and the avail-ability and quality of risk data at the centreof asset decision making.

Managing risk in the face of finiteresources has long been an implicit component of asset management in thewater sector. On-going demand for finan-cial self-sufficiency and controlled pricinghas created a climate in which our clientshave to rigorously evaluate spending onboth capital investment and operation/maintenance budgets, without compro-

mising either the public health or the facilities’ impact on the environ-ment. Screening out all risk to public health is unachievable, butexcessive levels of risk are not acceptable. Thus, asset managementis becoming an increasingly recognized approach to optimize costswhile achieving the desired mitigation of risk.

This risk-based asset management approach provides an organiza-tional barrier against compromises in water quality that is additionalto those provided by the established multi-barrier, source-to-tapmechanisms. Drinking Water Safety Plans, and their risk manage-ment component, help our clients to assess how successfully watersupply assets function in the provision of safe drinking water.

Beyond the technological and organizational mechanisms describedabove, we consider the provision of safe drinking water to be a ‘highreliability’ societal service, provided by organizations who emphasize:

• A strong organizational culture of reliability

• Continuous learning and intensive training

• Effective and varied patterns of communication

• Adaptable decision making dynamics

• Flexible organizational structures

• System and human redundancy (retained margins of safety)

• Precise procedures for managing technology and

• Human resource management practices that support reliability.

Associated Engineering understands these technological, organiza-tional, and cultural needs to support our clients. We can provide business and engineering solutions that achieve these water sectorobjectives as part of our integrated asset management and engineer-ing approach.

For more information on water safety risk assessments and watersector asset management solutions, contact Roland Bradshaw,EngD, MBA, CEng, at 905.346.0990 (bradshawr@ae.ca). Rolandreceived his Engineering Doctorate in Risk-Based AssetManagement. His research was sponsored by AWWA.

Risk-based asset management provides organizational barrier against compromises to water qualityWhile working for an infrastructure surveying group in France, just

after leaving high school, RolandBradshaw realized he wanted to bean engineer. Roland explains, “Thegroup I was working with wasresponsible for assessing roads andbridges to ensure they complied withNATO standards. It was a prettyexciting and rewarding assignment.”Roland received sponsorship fromthe Armed Forces to study environ-mental engineering, “a focus area”,he tells us, “that was pretty signifi-cant, considering the Eastern block countries which soon were to join the European Union and NATO.” In return for the sponsorship, Rolandjoined a military training program andbecame an infrastructure officerstudying military strategy and tactics,the use of civil infrastructure for military purposes, and the large-scaledeployment of troops and combat equipment for military operations.

Roland completed his undergraduate studies in EnvironmentalEngineering in Germany and then returned to the UK to undertake aMaster of Science degree.

After graduation, he joined MWH, an American consulting firm with alarge subsidiary in the United Kingdom, as a junior engineer. Rolandsays, “The company had just been awarded a multi-million dollar program management contract for managing the needs assessmentprocess, preliminary design, and construction for a large water utility.The opportunities in the company were endless, and career progres-sion was determined by how much effort individuals put into theirjobs. Within 18 months of employment, Iwas given the opportunity to manage designprojects, and after 3 years I was the ProjectEngineer on a 20 million Pound (Sterling)design and construction contract.”

Based on his academic background, Rolandwas always more attracted to work in anadvisory role. He explains, “Advisory rolesprovide the opportunity to share knowledgeand experience across the boundaries of anorganization. It provides the opportunity towork on projects, deliver them, and moveon, while at the same time learning newthings from clients.”

In 2008, Roland had plans to move fromEurope to Canada. At the time, there was ahuge demand for engineers and the Consulting Engineers of Albertawere recruiting in England. Roland advises, “I first met AssociatedEngineering staff through the CEA recruitment in England. I waseager to work for Associated Engineering. In particular, I was excitedabout promoting asset management services as a strategicallyadvantageous service that generates more opportunities for our traditional service spectrum.

Two years later, I joined the Associated Engineering AssetManagement Group in St.Catharines.”

Roland has written a significant num-ber of business proposals promotingour asset management support serv-ices. Within the first few months of his arrival in Canada, he wrote a proposal to develop a Utility MasterPlanning Approach and decision-making support toolbox for theAlberta Capital Region WastewaterCommission. Roland says, “This wasan exciting work and I put a lot ofeffort into winning this project. Call it luck or a blessing, we did win theproject and we developed an entiresoftware application suite for infra-structure needs and risk assess-ments, as well as a capital and financial planning function. This project was not only something

completely novel to our client, but also to our staff delivering the project, and we all had the opportunity to learn about advanced assetmanagement approaches.”

Roland’s role at Associated Engineering has a national mandate topromote our asset management services amongst our offices andclients. Although he works on projects in Ontario, he spends themajority of his time on business development and supporting projectteams across the company.

When asked about his philosophy regarding work and mentoring,Roland tells us, “One of my core philosophies is a commitment to

continuous professional development. I gothe extra mile to share my knowledge andexperience with staff and clients. As a men-tor myself, I understand the importance ofhelping our junior staff get a professionalperspective on their roles as engineers andthe responsibilities our profession carries.”

Although work keeps Roland busy, heenjoys his free time with his wife Lilie, andtheir one-year-old daughter, Shoshanah. Hehas a small vegetable and herb garden thathe tends to, and also enjoys painting andreading. Roland tells us, “Painting hasbecome one of my favourite hobbies and anumber of my paintings decorate our home.”

As for advice for young technologists andengineers entering the consulting engineering field, Roland replies,“The transition from university to working in a professional environ-ment can be pretty challenging and there is risk that junior staff findthemselves lost. I recommend asking your supervisor for a buddy ormentor who can show you the ropes. After all, we want to make surethat you are happy with your career choice. Having said that, youalso need to stick with your choice to build up your professional portfolio that sets the cornerstones of your long-term career.”

Roland’s wife, Lilie, one year old daughter, Shoshanah, andRoland.

Painting by Roland Bradshaw, entitled “House ofPrayer”, inspired by a synagogue he visited inBerlin.

5

www.ae.ca

TODAY

8

St. Albert, Alberta’s Riel Park Redevelopment provides community with first-rate recreational facility

Aerial photo of Riel Park, Phase II construction, September 2010

Under most P3s, the asset reverts to public ownership at the conclusion of the operating period. After 30 years, most of these assets are only in mid-life and should continue to provide continuing value to the taxpayers. Hand-back criteria are includedin the P3 to capture the residual value at the end of the concessionperiod. No one wants to get back an asset which is physically worn-out and requires significant rehabilitation to realize the remainder of its useful life. However, there is also a cost associatedwith setting overly onerous hand-back standards. For the currentround of P3s, the design/build phase appears to have been relativelysuccessful, but we will really only know in 30 years time, at hand-back of the infrastructure, whether they were truly successful anddelivered value to the taxpayer.

Associated Engineering has experience in evaluating, specifying, and monitoring P3s through our roles on projects ranging from proponent team member, Owner’s Engineer, Owner’s technical consultant, Independent Certifier, and Lender’s technical advisoryteam member.

About the authors:John Fussell, P.Eng. is a Senior Bridge Engineerand Project Manager. He has managed a widevariety of transportation projects, delivered conventionally and through alternate deliveryprocesses. As Vice President, Transportation,John is involved in all alternative delivery transportation projects undertaken by Associated Engineering.

James Thomas, B.E. is aSenior Bridge Engineer and Project Manager.James coordinated delivery of AssociatedEngineering’s design services on the Port MannHighway 1 project in Vancouver, a $3.3 billiondesign/build, and developed Owner’s EngineerManagement Processes for delivery of the DehCho Bridge Construction Phase II ($75 milliontraditional contract), near Fort Providence, NWT.

ViewPoints (continued from page 4)

Alternative project delivery methodsThe redevelopment of Riel Park, in St. Albert, Alberta is attractingathletes and fans with its new facilities that, when completed, willfeature an outstanding multipurpose artificial field, rugby and soccerfacilities, an upgraded 92-stall RV campground, banquet facility, androdeo grounds.

Riel Park was originally used as a sewage lagoon and dry landfilluntil the mid-1980’s when it was reclaimed to the environmental standards of the time. In early 2000, a concern was raised as towhether the landfill needed further remediation. In addressing thisenvironmental concern, the City completed the Riel LandfillManagement Plan. The plan called for a number of additional landfillinitiatives to be undertaken by the City, one of which included theredevelopment (capping) of the site to prevent the migration of water into the landfill. With this initiative, City Council recognized anopportunity to significantly enhance the site’s facilities and developeda four-phase approach to site remediation and redevelopment.

Associated Engineering has been involved with the Riel ParkRedevelopment for the City of St. Albert since 2006. During that time,the role has evolved. Project Engineer Greg Edwards explains, “In2006, Associated Engineering was retained by the City to participatein the servicing report for the redevelopment. In 2007, we wereretained by EIDOS Consulting to participate in the design and construction of Stage 1 Redevelopment, and in 2009, we wereretained by the City of St. Albert as the coordinating consultantresponsible for design of Stages 2, 3, and 4 and construction ofStage 2.

“The main focus of the project,” Greg says, “was to increase the clay cap over the previously closed landfill. The cap was required toprevent water from entering the landfill, thus reducing potentialleachate. This, compounded with the fact that the site was occupiedby a number of community user groups, created many challenges.”

The City’s second mandate was to reinstate the user group facilities on top of the newly capped landfill surface.

Stage 1 was constructed in 2008 and included the following:

! Overall capping and grading

! Stormwater management

! Development of a 92-stall, full-service RV Park. Work included

water, sewer, power, shower house, and sewage pumping station

! Development of a 1.4 hectare event parking surface

! Roadways and underground utilities

! Multi-use sports field including a field under-drain system, a maintenance building, and bleachers.

Stage 2 design commenced in 2009 with construction in the spring of2010. The project was completed in the spring of 2011 and includedthe following:

! Capping and grading

! Redevelopment of the rodeo grounds, complete with a new arena, cattle handling facilities, grandstands, and event parking area

! Redevelopment of the BMX facility, which included a 152 square metre building to house bike rentals, repair shop, and concession area. The track was redesigned as an international-calibre track using Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI, or International Cycling Union) Standards

! Development of Rotary Park, which spans an area of approximately3.5 hectares, contains numerous BBQ pads, and is deemed as the entrance point to the Lois Hole Provincial Park

! Construction of a washroom facility located on the Stage 1 multi- use sports field site.

Stage 3 and 4 design has been completed with construction scheduled for the fall of 2012 and the spring of 2013. Works willinclude:

! Capping and grading

! Reconstruction of four premium rugby fields

! Reconstruction of four premium soccer fields and three smaller practice fields

! A complete automated irrigation system for both sites.

Project team members were Chris Skowronski, Greg Edwards,Hitendra Patel, Owen Mierke, Dino Borelli, Mario Mendoza, JeremyPetzold, Helder Afonso, Caitlin Luo, Larry Papke, Terry Mitchell,Katherine Bobbitt, Alicia Dmytruk, and Judy Arychuk.

In 2010, the Regional Municipalityof Wood Buffalo in NorthernAlberta retained AssociatedEngineering as its ProgramManager Partner, to assist inplanning and developing its infra-structure program. As part of ourrole, Associated Engineering hassix staff working directly in theRMWB engineering office in FortMcMurray. This group of five arethe “Core Team” and they workclosely with the RMWBEngineering office to assist indelivering the municipal engineer-ing services to the general public.The Core team participates in capital contract drawingreviews, subdivision approval reviews, infrastructure master planningreviews, Municipal Development Planning creation, capital budgetrequests, capital budget amendments, pre-design of capital projects,and filing of as-builts drawings. The Core Team includes CivilTechnicians Everett Dion and Jan Nuer; and Civil Engineers DerekFalardeau-Mercier, Jason Vanderzwaag, and Masrur Askar.

With three main areas of service delivery (development services,infrastructure planning and design, and project management andcapital project), the office currently manages approximately $300 million of new municipal infrastructure capital projects annually.

The Core Team assists in any area requested by the RMWB management, and is backed up by our Edmonton-based “Resources

Team”, headed by Nelson DosSantos, P.Eng., under the overalldirection of Group Manager JeffFetter. Herb Kuehne, VicePresident, Civil Infrastructure, isthe Corporate Sponsor overseeingthe team.

For the Core Team, moving to andliving in Fort McMurray has beenan adjustment. Everett Dion advis-es, “One of my favourite thingsabout Fort McMurray is actuallyone of the things I was afraid ofbefore moving here - the weather.While it does get very cold, -45˚Cwith wind-chill is the coldest I per-sonally have experienced, there

are other things that make up for it. I have been able to drive onseasonal ice roads to Fort Chipewyan over a frozen lake, seenamazing northern lights which take over the entire sky, and enjoydays with 18 hours of sunlight.” Jason Vanderzwaag adds, “Thereare a variety of opportunities and activities offered here. From a workperspective, I am constantly taking on tasks that put my skills to test.Fort McMurray has a lot of things going on. With a growth rate thatis the highest in Canada, near 10%, when the rest of Canada andthe US economies are struggling, Fort McMurray has appeal. Thiswinter the municipality sponsored the largest outdoor hockey game inAlberta, the “Winter Classic”, which broke attendance records withjust over 5,000 people. Everett says, “Those who live here are quiteproud of Fort McMurray.”

Fort McMurray’s “Core Team” embraces lifestyle changewith a “can do” attitude

AE Core Team with RMWB engineering team.

9

www.ae.ca

In early 2011 the Honourable June Draude, Minister of SocialServices and Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan HousingCorporation (SHC), announced thedevelopment of a comprehensiveprovincial housing strategy for release in June 2011. Housing sector stakeholders were invited to a number of consultation sessions in several communities around theprovince in March and April, 2011.Associated Engineering was commissioned by the Ministry ofSocial Services to facilitate consulta-tions, based on our background inpublic consultation facilitation, housing, municipal planning and engineering, policy development, and subdivision development.

A Provincial Housing StrategyWorking Group (Working Group) led the overall process and provided the best practice research and technical analysis to supportthe consultations and comprehensive housing strategy development.Associated Engineering supported the Working Group’s efforts byinforming plans for the consultations, preparing a communicationplan, facilitating the sessions, recording discussions, and preparing a report and presentation on the results of the consultations.Associated Engineering provided two facilitators, Monique Kealeyand Gary Quiring, and a Project Planner, Jennifer Blomme, who prepared the consultation report.

Monique says, “During the consultation workshops, we fostered dialogue in a structured environment that provided opportunity for

all participants to participate in a safe and welcoming environment.

The workshops commenced with a team building exercise to buildrapport with participants. A mix ofbreak-out sessions and group discus-sions were used to discuss solutionsto current issues in the housing sectorand what role each might play in real-izing these solutions.”

A total of over 350 stakeholdersattended the sessions in ten communities. Participants had opportunity to rank the priority of previously identified issues, identifysolutions, and discuss their role inhousing. Another thirty attended aninter-ministry session to focus onhousing solutions within the provincialgovernment.

The workshops provided a forum for representatives of a variety ofstakeholder groups to gather and discuss the housing issues thataffect them, their communities, and regions. It was evident from thediscussions that different levels of need exist across the province,and the housing issues will require a context-tailored approach tomove forward in addressing the issues rather than a “one size fits all”solution. Although a wide array of perspectives were presented at theworkshops, significant themes emerged throughout the consultationprocess and were used for the formation of a housing strategy.

Associated Engineering prepared a report that summarized the feedback provided during the consultation proceedings. This reportinformed the housing strategy that has recently been released.

Strategy workshops inform comprehensive housing strategy

On May 4, 2011, the City of Vancouver officially opened the HeavyUrban Search and Rescue Facility, a storage and training centre forVancouver-based Canada Task Force One. The facility will provide a permanent location for the urban search and rescue team to storetheir equipment and vehicles, as well as providing a location for

training. Associated Engineering designed and oversaw constructionof the building’s site servicing and grading.

Associated Engineering, working with Colborne Architectural Groupfor the City of Vancouver, designed sanitary sewer, storm sewer, andwater service connections, and the proposed paving and sidewalkaround the building for the new facility. The design was led by ProjectManager Dieter Diedericks, with Everett Dion serving as lead designer.When the project moved to construction in November of 2010, StuartNash served as the client contact and construction inspector. Stuartadvises, “Associated Engineering was a resource for discussionswith the City on site issues that came up during construction, includ-ing water service configuration and water meter location, sanitarysewer connections and an abandoned gas line that was found onsite.” Everett adds, “The challenges for this project included soil conditions, coordination with shallow utilities, and tying into the existing infrastructure. These were mitigated by doing geotechnicalanalysis, gathering record drawings, and placing the BC1 call.”

The facility was constructed by KDS Construction, with site servicinginstallation completed by CG Excavating.

Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Facility opens in VancouverOpening day of the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Facility

Workshops, like the one above, provided forum for discussion

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www.ae.ca

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Structural team wins major awards for bridge design Northwest Stormwater Improvements project provides theTown of Taber with a cost-effective, environmentally friendlydrainage solution

Congratulations to our Structuralteam, which has recently been recog-nized with two awards. AlbertaTransportation presented anInnovation Award to AssociatedEngineering for the design of Pre-CastBridge Deck Panels on two newbridge interchange projects, atCallingwood Road and Lessard Roadover Anthony Henday Drive. The project was managed by DusankaStevanovic, with design led by BalaBalakrishnan, inspections by ElizabethDeVries and Michelle Dufrat-Jarvis,and Adam Rees as lead CAD

designer. The team was also honoured with a 2011 Award ofExcellence in Concrete from theAlberta Chapter of the AmericanConcrete Institute for the DunveganSuspension Bridge DeckReplacement project. The project wasmanaged by John Fussell and TaraAlexander, design led by BalaBalakrishnan, with Adam Firth as site inspector, and Adam Rees as lead CAD designer.

Left - Bala Balakrishnan receives ACI2011 Award of Excellence in Concrete

For many years, the southern Alberta Town of Taber has experiencedsignificant storm drainage issues. An update to the Town’sInfrastructure Master Plan (IMP) in 2007 identified a growing need toupgrade the Town’s major storm sewer trunks. Expanding residentialdevelopment adjacent to the north-west trunk sewer and increasingseverity of on-street ponding movedthe storm sewer upgrade higher onthe priority list.

In 2008 the town approachedAssociated Engineering to reviewdrainage upgrading options. A videoinspection of the existing 3.5 kilome-tre, 1350 millimetre diameter, corru-gated steel pipe (CSP) trunk sewershowed that the 40 year-old pipewas in poor structural condition.

Associated Engineering explored various upgrading alternatives,including additional storm ponds, to reduce the load on the overtaxedsystem. Ultimately, due to existingground elevations, the ponds wererejected and the decision was made to install new pipe on an adjacent alignment and abandon the existing trunk.

While the town had initially adopted a phased approach due to funding constraints, when Building Canada Funding became available, the decision was made to apply for the full project scope.Detailed design began, and by December 2009, a single contract for the installation of 3500 metres of concrete pipe, varying from 1500 millimetre to 450 millimetre diameter, was tendered. A secondaryhighway crossing added another 75metres of 1500 millimetre diameterconcrete jacking pipe. The installa-tion of this section was competed bytunnel boring and pipe jacking. At thestorm outlet, the new 1500 millimetreconcrete pipe had to tie to an exist-ing 900 CSP pipe at the top of acoulee, which dropped 30 metres tothe existing energy dissipater struc-ture at a steep 46% slope. ProjectManager Nancy Green tells us, “Thistie-in faced design and constructionchallenges in the significant gradechange and stormwater hydraulics,combined with the location at the topof the coulee.”

“A 5 metre-long, custom, steel reducing elbow was designed –

fabricated locally and welded and bolted to flanges at the CSP andconcrete pipe.”

Since the design was increasing the flow rate for the stormwater, theenergy dissipater at the bottom of the coulee also had to be replaced

with a larger structure. A precaststructure was designed for ease andspeed of installation, as it had to tieto the existing 900 CSP pipe while infull service. The increase in flowsalso triggered a new water licencerequirement from AlbertaEnvironment. Nancy says, “AlbertaEnvironment required an assessmentof the impact to the downstreamchannel, approximately 1.5 kilome-tres to the Oldman River mouth.Summit Environmental Consultants(an AE subsidiary) assisted with thisassessment, and provided recom-mendations to mitigate negative erosion impacts to the coulee banks.”Associated Engineering worked withthe town’s Sustainable ResourcesCoordinator, in conjunction with local

environmental groups, to assist in planting willow branches along thechannel bank to fulfill one of Summit’s recommendations.

With depths of up to seven metres, in challenging soil conditions,construction along the existing residential streets required removaland replacement of existing curb and sidewalk, and some dewateringof the existing saturated sands.

Nancy tells us, “The design called for in situ filling of the existing 1350 millimetre CSP trunk main. The contractor came forward with anoption of using Cematrix fill, whichwas reviewed and adopted for theproject, and proved to be a veryeffective means of filling the pipe insitu.”

This project was originally estimatedat $8.9 million, with completion inmultiple phases over multiple years.With the approval of the InfrastructureStimulus Funding, the entire systemwas designed and constructed for$7.3 million.

Associated Engineering staff involvedon this project included NancyGreen, Gord Roberts, EJ White,Kristi Stickel-Burke, Dean Maruyama,Greg Brouwer, and Larry Bodnaruk.

View from the top of the coulee - steel fitting to tie the concretepipe and existing CSP pipe that outlets at the bottom of theslope.

Installation of 1500 millimetre diameter pipe, six metres deep in existing 56th Avenue

Associated Engineering raises over $24,000 for the CanadianCancer Society Relay for Life

Led by Bert Munro, Vice President and General Manager of ourSaskatchewan operation, Associated Engineering raised more than$24,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society in the annual Relay forLife. Thank you to all Associated Engineering staff, family, friends,clients, suppliers, and contractors, who helped us to set yet anotherrecord for fundraising. We are all heroes to those living with cancer.

Associated Engineering staff share their time and talents at our localuniversities and colleges

Many of our staff contribute their time to local universities and colleges, serving as adjunct professors, sitting on committees, andguest lecturing. Their involvement is a testament to their expertise,and commitment to our educational institutions. Kudos to the follow-ing staff for their dedication to educating the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technologists:

Dean Shiskowski, Ph.D., P.Eng. - Adjunct Professor of EnvironmentalEngineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at UBC.Graduate student research advisory committee and examinationcommittee member at University of Wisconsin, Madison and UBC.

Bosco Tong, M.Sc., MBA, P.E., P.T.O.E., P.Eng. - Adjunct Professorat Tongji University in Shanghai and guest lectures at the Universityof New Brunswick.

Anna Comerton, Ph.D., P.Eng. - Adjunct Professor at University of Toronto.

Brian Guy, Ph.D., P.Geo., P.H. - Adjunct professor at the University of Northern British Columbia, and Water Chair to the advisory committee at UBC Okanagan.

Lianna Mah, M.Eng., P.Eng. - Guest lectures at UBC and BCIT.

Clint Smyth, Ph.D., P.Biol. - Teaches courses at the University ofLethbridge, University of Calgary, and University of Victoria.

Bert Munro, P.Eng., FCSCE, FEC - Guest lectures at University ofSaskatchewan, Dean Search Committee for the College ofEngineering at the University of Saskatchewan, SIAST AdvisoryBoard for Civil and Water Resources Technology Programs.

Martin Jobke, P.Eng. - BCIT Civil program advisory committee.

Greg Kaupp, C.E.T. and Kristie Stickle-Burke, C.Tech - LethbridgeCommunity College Engineering Design and Drafting TechnologyAdvisory Committee.

The Town of Dundurn, RegionalMunicipalities of Dundurn, and the ResortVillages of Thode and Shields received the2011 Environmental Stewardship Award fortheir Joint Sanitary Sewer System project.This award recognizes municipal practicesthat demonstrate the municipal corpora-tion's work as a steward of the environ-ment, or the municipal corporation's effortsto encourage environmental sustainabilitywithin their community. Associated

Engineering was retained by the Dundurnand Area Wastewater Utility to investigatewastewater collection, treatment, and disposal alternatives, using a regionalapproach. Project Manager Darrell Rinastells us, “As a result of the collaborationbetween the communities on a regionalwastewater management system, eachcommunity will have an affordable and sustainable wastewater management solution.”

Dundurn and Area Wastewater Utility receives SaskatchewanMunicipal Award for Environmental Stewardship

Building CommunitiesLagoon treatment cell

11

AE Today is published for employees andfriends of the Associated Engineeringgroup of companies. Visit our web pageat www.ae.ca for past issues of AE Today.

If you have any comments or sugges-tions for future issues, contact your localAssociated Engineering office or:

Lianna Mah, P.Eng., Editor300 - 4940 Canada WayBurnaby, BC V5G 4M5Tel: (604) 293-1411Fax: (604) 291-6163 orEmail us at: aetoday@ae.ca

Associated Engineering Offices

Telephone Numbers

AE Group (Edmonton) (780) 451-7666

ATAP Infrastructure Management Ltd.Edmonton (780) 441-9884Saskatoon (306) 244-8828

Comox (250) 339-9896Calgary (403) 262-4500Edmonton (780) 451-7666Fort McMurray (780) 715-3850Kelowna (250) 763-3638Langley (604) 888-3572Lethbridge (403) 329-1404Medicine Hat (403) 528-3771Prince Albert (306) 764-3040Red Deer (403) 314-5327Regina (306) 721-2466Saskatoon (306) 653-4969St. Catharines (905) 346-0990Toronto (416) 622-9502Greater Vancouver (604) 293-1411Vernon (250) 545-3672Whitehorse (867) 456-2711Winnipeg (204) 942-6391Yellowknife (867) 920-4074

Fax Numbers

AE Group (Edmonton) (780) 453-3871

ATAP Infrastructure Management Ltd. Edmonton (780) 454-7698Saskatoon (306) 244-8829

Comox (250) 339-5855Calgary (403) 269-7640Edmonton (780) 454-7698Fort McMurray (780) 715-3851Kelowna (250) 763-8880Lethbridge (403) 329-4745Medicine Hat (403) 528-9701Prince Albert (306) 764-3119Red Deer (403) 314-4968Regina (306) 721-2474Saskatoon (306) 242-4904St. Catharines (905) 346-0992Toronto (416) 622-6249Greater Vancouver (604) 291-6163Vernon (250) 545-3654Whitehorse (604) 291-6163Winnipeg (204) 942-6399

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If you would prefer to receive AE Todayvia email, please email aetoday@ae.ca.

In This Issue2 New appointments for Garry

Drachenberg and Doug Olson

3 Northwest Stormwater Improvements project provides the Town of Taber with a cost-effective, environmentally friendly drainage solution

4 ViewPoints - Alternate project delivery methods - can they solve the infrastructure deficit in Canada?

5 Fort McMurray’s “Core Team” embraces lifestyle change with a “can do” attitude

6 Profile - Roland Bradshaw enjoys sharing knowledge and experience across the boundaries of an organization

7 Risk-based asset managementprovides organizational barrieragainst compromises to water quality

8 Redevelopment of Riel Park in St. Albert, Alberta provides first-rate facilities

9 Strategy workshops will aid in developing a comprehensive housing strategy

Heavy Urban Search and RescueFacility opens in Vancouver

10 Building Communities

Structural Team wins major awards for bridge design

Dundurn and Area Wastewater Utility receives Saskatchewan Municipal Award for Environmental Stewardship

11 Employee News

12 Bridge to Steepbank Mine features the tallest mechanically stabilized earth wall abutments in North America

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Employee News

Shane continues, “Early in the design phase, theteam recognized that construction over Highway 1and through the ongoing Port Mann Highway 1construction project was going to be a critical constraint. Associated Engineering began talksimmediately with Transportation InvestmentCorporation (the Port Mann Highway 1 projectmanagers), and Kiewit Flatiron (the Port MannHighway 1 contractor.)”

The design needed to accommodate multipleHighway 1 lane configurations and minimizeimpacts on Highway 1 traffic during construction.The concrete substructure was situated to suit thecurrent and future lane configurations and was constructed within temporary staging areas, result-ing in minimal impact on Highway 1 traffic. Thesteel superstructure was designed to be assembledadjacent to the highway and lifted into position,once complete. As a result, the impacts to Highway1 traffic were limited to two, four hour detours.During construction, the work was scheduled toavoid conflicts with the Highway 1 construction.

Shane notes, “Proactive communication with stake-holders fostered a spirit of goodwill, and all of thestakeholders were very cooperative throughoutconstruction.”

Construction of the $5.5 million project began inOctober 2010. The bridge was opened to the public in June 2011, and is already a landmark on the morning traffic reports.

Key Associated Engineering staff involved on thisproject during design and construction includedShane Cook, Mingyu Li, Leslie Mihalik, DavidHarvey, Nik Cuperlovic, Jack Jiao, James Nikolai,Karam Bahi, and Victor Yin.

Tynehead Pedestrian Bridge crossesHighway 1, connecting Tynehead RegionalPark with the Fraser Heights neighbourhood

Congratulations to Bill De Angelis, MBA, P.Eng., Vice President & GeneralManager of Associated Engineering’s Ontario operation on his election asChair of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) Board of Directors. Billhas over 30 years experience in both the public and private sectors andwill be an asset to the CEO as Chair.

Bert Munro, P.Eng., Vice President & General Managerof Associated Engineering’s Saskatchewan operation,recently received the McCannel Award. This award is

presented annually to honour service to the Association of ProfessionalEngineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan, and to the Professions asa whole. The McCannel Award is named after Roy McCannel, a foundingmember of the Association.

Congratulations to Marvin Loewen, Limited Member (Engineering), PMP,on his recent registration with the Association of Professional Engineersand Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). Marvin is the BranchManager for all the offices in the Saskatchewan operation and has over 20years of experience in land development, asset management, infrastruc-ture rehabilitation, and program management.

Michelle Guy, P.L.S., P.E., P.Eng., has joined ourYellowknife office as a Senior Project Manager.

Michelle will focus on project management, and business development in the Northwest Territories. Michelle has over 25 years experience in commercial and residential site development, as well as diverse civil engineering projects.

Edith Asselin, M.Eng., P.Eng., LEED AP, has been promoted to Manager of the Water and Wastewater/EI&C Group inEdmonton. Edith is a Process Design Engineer and Project Manager with experience in all phases of project development, from planning and process design through to construction. Recently, as Senior ProjectManager, Edith managed the Water Treatment Plant Expansion in FortMcMurray.

Klas Ohman, Ph.D., P.Eng., has joined our Calgaryoffice as a Senior Water & Environmental Engineer. Klas specializes insolid waste management, wastewater treatment, and water treatment. Hehas worked as an environmental instructor in SAIT’s Chemistry,Engineering, and Petroleum programs, and in the consulting engineeringsector on water, wastewater, and contaminated sites projects. He is thecurrent Chair of the Drinking Water Quality Committee for the CanadianWater and Wastewater Association.

Associated Engineering opens new office in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Associated Engineering is pleased to announce the opening of our new Winnipeg office. Our team iscomprised of (l-r in photo left) JeffO’Driscoll, P.Eng., Branch Manager;Bert Munro, P.Eng., FCSCE, VicePresident & General Manager; KenAnderson, P.Eng., Water GroupManager; and Darcy Robinson,P.Eng., LEED AP, EIC GroupManager.

The address for our Winnipeg office is: 203 - Number Five Donald Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3L 2T4 Phone: 204-942-6391, Fax: 204-942-6399

Garry Drachenberg,P.Eng. has more than25 years experience,with a diverse consult-ing background in water and wastewaterengineering. Garry hasbeen responsible forproject management,multi-discipline projectcoordination, staff coordination, andprocess/mechanical design of water and waste-water treatment projects. He has authored and presented many papers on water supply and treatment, lectured on water treatment at theNorthern Alberta Institute of Technology, and has

taught the AlbertaWater and WastewaterOperators certificationcourses.

Doug Olson, P.Eng.has over 20 years ofexperience in watersupply, water treatment,pumping stations,municipal, and irrigation projects. With a diversebackground in project

management, project engineering, processmechanical design, and water resources design.Doug has a proven ability to cover projects fromproject feasibility studies to plant start-up and commissioning services, and project completion.

Garry Drachenberg and Doug Olson providewater expertise across the AssociatedEngineering group of companiesKerry Rudd, President & CEO, is pleased to announce the appointments of Garry Drachenberg, P.Eng. tothe position of Water Practice and Operations Leader, and Doug Olson, P.Eng. to the position of WaterTechnical Leader for the Associated Engineering group of companies. Congratulations to both Garry andDoug in their new roles.

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ISSUE #3 2011

TODAYG L O B A L P E R S P E C T I V E . L O C A L F O C U S .

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Located south of Vancouver, the City of Surrey is one of the fastestgrowing communities in BC. To guide its growth, the city has estab-lished strategies for beautification, sustainability, and healthy living.As part of these strategies, the city has implemented a GreenwaysProgram. The Greenways Program will result in the development ofa 200 kilometre network of off-street, multi-use pathways throughoutthe city.

In 2009, the city received $11 million in Federal and Provincial funding (Stimulus Funding) for a suite of pedestrian and cycling projects. Each of the three government partners funded one-third of the projects. Included in this funding was the Tynehead Cyclingand Pedestrian Overpass project, a signature structure crossingHighway 1 at 168 Street.

The City of Surrey retained Associated Engineering, with sub-consultants Perkins+Will Architects, Space2Place, and ThurberEngineering, to provide design and construction services for theTynehead Cycling and Pedestrian Overpass. The TyneheadOverpass is an important part of the planned network, providing a key cycling and pedestrian link between the Fraser Heights neigh-bourhood, Tynehead Regional Park, and the rest of Surrey south ofHighway 1.

Considering the highly visible location of the bridge, the City wanteda signature structure which would be a gateway to the City. The elegant tied arch design of the 120 metre long, three span overpasswas inspired by the silhouette of the mountains north of the FraserRiver. The landscaped approaches and aesthetic form encourage theenjoyment of Surrey’s green spaces and bicycle paths.

The bridge is illuminated at night with an artistic lighting display. Thedesign of the lighting was carefully integrated with the bridge to mini-mize the visual impact of the fixtures and wiring, enhance the form ofthe structure, and minimize distraction and glare for the drivers onHighway 1.

Project Manager Shane Cook tells us, “The design of the bridgeneeded to address many complex constraints and stakeholderconsiderations, including land ownership, a high pressure gas line,the environmentally sensitive Tynehead Park, and the incorporationof public art in the form of lighting. Associated Engineering workedproactively with a variety of stakeholders and the public to ensure thevarious constraints were met.”

Signature Tynehead Pedestrian Bridge is a gateway to theCity of Surrey

(continued on page 2)

The mining and processing industry in Northern Alberta requires heavy haul roads for mining equipment traffic, which carry loads ashigh as 700 tonnes from a haulpack to 1400 tonnes from a trackedshovel. For Suncor Energy Inc., an integral part of their mining operations required the design and construction of a heavy haulbridge over the Steepbank River, near Fort McMurray, to provideaccess to Suncor’s Steepbank Mine. Design of such bridges requiressome unique considerations and challenges. Suncor retainedAssociated Engineering to complete the preliminary and detaileddesign of the bridge.

Associated Engineering designed the 33 metre span steel girderbridge, which is supported on 20 metre high mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall abutments. Senior Bridge Specialist Bala Balakrishnan says, “The Steepbank River Bridge’s mechanically stabilized earth wall abutments are the tallest built in North America.”Bala continues, “The span length of 33 metres was selected to avoidany in-stream work or disturbance of the river, thus protecting the fish habitat, and to allow for wildlife passage on both banks. The 40 metre-wide roadway allows for two lanes of haulpack traffic. To distribute the heavy wheel loads on to the deck slab, and to dampenthe vibrations, a gravel fill of 1.5 metres was used.”

The MSE wall abutments are true load bearing - the superstructure is supported directly on top of the reinforced soil mass. The bearingpressure of 350 kiloPascals exerted by the superstructure is thehighest on record for a bridge. The base of the 20 metre high soilmass was founded directly on bedrock. To confirm the elevation ofbedrock over the MSE wall foundation area, a geophysical investiga-tion was undertaken using ground penetrating radar (GPR), electricalresistivity tomography (ERT), and refraction seismic methods. Balaexplains, “These are proven techniques for determining depth tobedrock and providing high resolution information of the strata close

to ground surface. The ERT data was found to be accurate withinapproximately 1 metre, compared to the actual bedrock elevationsencountered upon excavation.”

Environmental considerations were para-mount in the design and construction of thebridge. The MSE wall foundation area wasisolated from the river by an excavationsupport system, consisting of steel pilesembedded in holes drilled in limestone andheavy steel plates spanning between thepiles. Bala tells us, “The bridge barrierdesign presented some unique challenges,such as determining the design loads andthe failure modes. Construction challengesincluded protection of fish habitat duringconstruction of the mechanically stabilizedwall foundations below the riverbed eleva-tions, winter construction, and sequencingto provide access across the river at alltimes. To expedite the work, a stay-in-placemetal deck form was used.”

Associated Engineering staff involved onthe project included Leo Panciroli, HelderAfonso, and Luisito Ibalio. KiewitManagement Limited was the contractor.

Bridge to Steepbank Mine features the tallest mechanicallystabilized earth wall abutments in North America

View of stay-in-place formwork and underside of deck

Mechanically stabilized earth wall start up

Tynehead Cycling and Pedestrian Overpass in Surrey, BC