Month: March 2022
Highway 1 – Lower Lynn Interchange Improvements address traffic congestion and safety issues
The Trans-Canada Highway / Highway 1 is the main route and a critical transportation link for people, services, and goods movement in British Columbia. In the Lower Mainland, the Highway 1 corridor connects Metro Vancouver to the North Shore, the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal, and Highway 99 leading north to the communities of Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton.
The interchanges immediately north of the Ironworkers Memorial bridge on the North Shore were designed and constructed more than 50 years ago. These interchanges are collectively referred to as the Lower Lynn Interchanges and include Mountain Highway, Keith Road/Mount Seymour Parkway, and the Main Street/Dollarton Highway Interchanges. With age and the growth of surrounding communities, the interchanges required improvements or replacement.
The BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure divided the interchange improvements into four phases. Associated Engineering was responsible for detailed design and construction services for the Mountain Highway Interchange (Phase 1) and the Dollarton Highway/Main Street Interchange (Phase 3). We were also involved in the functional design of the Lower Lynn Connectivity Improvements Project (Phase 2 & 4).
Priscilla Tsang, Senior Transportation Engineer and Deputy Design Manager/Project Manager, tells us, “The projects included improvements to address traffic safety, queuing, and delays.”
“The new interchanges will help improve traffic flow and travel times along Highway 1 and the Lower Lynn Interchanges, and upgrade transit and active transportation connectivity and safety.”
Mountain Highway Interchange: Associated provided detailed design and construction services for the new Mountain Highway interchange to improve multi-modal connectivity, capacity, and safety. The project includes a partial diamond interchange; a five-lane underpass; median and shoulder widening; realignment and widening of Mountain Highway; reconfiguration of the Brooksbank Avenue/Keith Road intersection; pedestrian and cycling facilities; and active transportation connectivity improvements, including a new pedestrian tunnel. Our team provided roadway, structural, drainage, and utility designs, as well as traffic engineering.
Dollarton Highway/Main Street Interchange: Associated completed preliminary, functional, and detailed design for upgrading the Dollarton Highway/Main Street Interchange to improve traffic flow and safety. Key components include a new eastbound on-ramp overpass at Main Street, two-retaining walls, on-ramp widening, a Highway 1 eastbound emergency pullout, and sidewalk/multi-use pathway improvements on Main Street. A unique feature of the design is a lane sharing and transit priority traffic signal to control the traffic from Phibbs Exchange and the Dollarton Highway and Main Street on-ramps to Ironworkers Memorial Bridge.
Situated adjacent to other project phases, constructability and schedule optimization were very important to optimize construction sequencing and reduce costs of all four phases. Efficiencies in budget and schedule were identified during value engineering and resulted in cost savings to the Mountain Highway interchange. The design also accommodated the future six-laning on Highway 1 and the replacement of the existing Lynn Creek Bridge in the future.
The geometric design was particularly challenging due to the highly constrained site, steep grades (about 8% on Highway 1 and 9% to 13% for Mountain Highway and the interchange on/off ramps), and close proximity to private properties. A tight diamond configuration minimized the footprint of the interchange.
The Mountain Highway Interchange required extensive retaining walls. Two major soil nail retaining walls were constructed, requiring close collaboration with the geotechnical engineers.
“The walls were finished with a shotcrete ‘rock-type’ facing, which makes them aesthetically pleasing and well integrated into the surroundings.” – Priscilla Tsang
Located within the project area, Keith Creek will be directly impacted by future climate change. Increases in peak rainfall intensities will result in larger peak flow rates, which will require larger infrastructure to safely convey these design flows through the project site. The design has a 20% allowance to account for increases in future rainfall intensities due to climate change.
The design included significant upgrades to pedestrian and cycling facilities along Mountain Highway, including a protected intersection at the Mountain Highway/Keith Road intersection, with separate pedestrian and cyclist crossings, as well as corner build outs to improve safety for cyclists.
Successfully delivering the project required extensive design coordination with the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, Greater Vancouver Water District, Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District, FortisBC, Telus, Shaw, BC Hydro, environmental agencies, the local community, advocacy groups, Vancouver Coastal Health, HUB Cycling, North Shore Mountain Biking Association, Advisory Committee on disability issues, and design teams from the other project phases.
Our key personnel on the project included Ron Gratz, Priscilla Tsang, Shaun Bidulka, Ana Varhaug, David Harvey, Helen Du, Katrin Habel, Josh Thiessen, Jenna Lee, Helen Zhang, Sang Chung, Alfred Kao, Winnie Li, Jason Dowling, Helen Yin, and Siu Fung Ma.
[ViewPoints] Focus for Associated’s Strategic Advisory Services: Resilience Fortified. Value Reimagined.
![[ViewPoints] Focus for Associated’s Strategic Advisory Services: Resilience Fortified. Value Reimagined.](https://www.ae.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/calgary-flood-river.jpg)
The world continues to evolve at a rapid pace. As uncertainty and extreme climate events increase, risks to our communities have never been more significant. Strategic thinking, agility, and resourcefulness are essential to manage these risks, improve resiliency, and better prepare for the future.
re·sil·ience | rə-zil-yən(t)s
n. the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; the process of adapting in the face of adversity
for·ti·fied | f˙or-tə-fīd
adj. provided with additional protection
Resilience Fortified
Resilience considers not only short-term needs, but also long-term sustainment of those needs.
To be resilient, we must consider all risks and uncertainties to help improve decision-making, build foresight, and plan for the unexpected.
Organizations are subject to increasing pressures to fortify resilience. Leaders and managers are now challenged to look for new, strategic approaches to their vision and strategy – essential in providing alignment and line-of-sight to goals and objectives. Key considerations include governance; integrated asset planning considering the entire asset life cycle; value and level of service for all stakeholders; and community resilience and sustainability, including preparedness, adaptation, response, and recovery. Risk-based decision-making, balancing investment with “all-hazards” risks, is a critical tool to manage uncertainty. We consider social, economic, environmental, and infrastructure risks, including aging assets and their vulnerabilities.
Developing and successfully implementing new, strategic approaches to improve resilience also requires coordinating the activities of an organization across departments and disciplines. Our approach evaluates both bottom-up and top-down considerations, macro and micro approaches, as well as effective change management, to fortify organizations, their assets and services, and our communities for the present and the future.
Value Reimagined
“Value lies in the eyes of the beholder.” With this in mind, it is critical to establish, understand, and acknowledge how value is defined by an organization and its leadership, as well as by stakeholders, such as investors and employees, and customers and the community.
Reimagining value provides an opportunity to fortify resilience. Our approach considers an organization’s governance, including transparency, accountability, and efficiency. We help leaders improve decision-making, balancing risk and return on investment. We work with clients to establish agreed levels of service considering equity and affordability. We can assist to optimize assets, extending service life and prioritizing rehabilitation and replacement. We work in consultation with our clients’ operations, maintenance, and management team to plan and determine the right approach, considering sustainability, resilience, and energy to reduce environmental footprint, fortify community resilience, and reimagine value.
We apply tailored approaches that consider the unique needs of each client to help fortify resilience and reimagine value for their organizations, assets, and communities. Our Strategic Advisory Services experts take a collaborative, holistic approach with clients and stakeholders to provide strategic advice, support, and guidance through transparent, multi-criteria decision analysis, and identify resilient and sustainable solutions that maximize value. Our experienced team brings expertise in strategy and governance, asset management, climate adaptation and mitigation, community resilience; including disaster preparedness and recovery, energy, sustainability, data intelligence, and integrated management systems, complemented by local and global experience in infrastructure, water, transportation, buildings, energy, and the environment.
We collaborate with you to solve today’s problems, consider tomorrow’s challenges, and fortify resilience to shape a better future.
About the author
Shane Thompson, MBA, P.Eng., CEM is our Manager, Strategic Advisory Services in Alberta. He has over 20 years experience providing strategic advice and leading infrastructure projects to improve resilience and value for both private and government clients in North America and Australia.
Shaping our Shared Future – April Ziegler
April Ziegler is an environmental scientist, professional biologist, and experienced project manager working on projects focused on environmental regulatory compliance and environmental assessment. She is also a volunteer extraordinaire, giving back to her community!
Outside of her daily work responsibilities, April is the co-coordinator of the Partners for Life – Blood Donation Group (Edmonton office). She has also been heavily involved in the annual efforts to raise money for the United Way – Alberta Capital Region for over six years.
April served as Campaign Chair for the United Way Committee for four years and was nominated as Employee Campaign Chair of the Year in 2020. She continues to be involved in the committee, organizing monthly volunteer groups to help organize food hampers at Edmonton’s Food Bank.
Outside of the office, April opened her home, fostering rescue dogs through Second Chance Animal Rescue Society. She was also a member of the Leduc Environmental Advisory Board, advising the City of Leduc on environmental matters over a three-year term and representing the City at numerous events.
In 2021, April moved to Vancouver Island in BC. She is continuing her volunteering activities with the “Better at Home” program, a program funded by United Way to support seniors in independent living.
Wherever she goes, April is leaving a positive mark on the community, and is shaping our shared future!
Wide-ranging experience, drive, and opportunity forged Heather Robertson’s successful career
As a high school student in small town BC, Senior Project Manager, Heather Robertson, remembers being interested in physics. But it was the creativity and hands-on approach offered by drafting and building stage sets that inspired her career. Heather recalls, “I loved drawing houses; I also wanted to go to the national art school in Montreal for stagecraft.” Due to circumstances, Heather elected to enroll in the BCIT Building Technology program after learning that she could develop her drafting skills in this program.
Heather recollects that, early in her career, her work days were spent at large drafting tables using analog tools. She credits two colleagues in a small Yellowknife office who provided mentorship and guidance, and encouraged her to take part in all areas of projects.
“I learned to write proposals, draft designs, prepare correspondence, and take part in the financial management of projects.”
Later, she learned computer-aided design drafting, which was state-of-the-art at the time. She shares, “I developed master standards for the office, developed the symbols (blocks) for architectural, electrical, mechanical, and civil disciplines, and gained design experience in these disciplines.”
Her career evolved from drafting and design to construction inspection and contract administrator to her current role as a project manager. She says, “I have enjoyed working on projects that improve our infrastructure and benefit the quality of life for communities, businesses, and residents.”
Heather’s first encounter with the Associated Engineering team was in 2007, when she was working with the City of Prince George as their project manager on the Cameron Street Bridge and North Nechako Roundabout.
“The Associated team impressed me with their professionalism and thoroughness on a very challenging project. I built a good relationship with the team. When I decided I wanted a change, I reached out to see if there may be an opportunity to join their team.”
As a Senior Project Manager in our Kelowna office, Heather’s philosophy is to recognize every member of a project team, as everyone brings unique skill sets and experiences. “I foster a collaborative approach on projects. I think it’s important to get everyone’s input, based on their experience and expertise. This approach contributes to better project outcomes.”
Heather believes mentoring is important at all ages and at all stages in one’s career.
“I have always been learning from others and believe this should start and continue throughout one’s career.”
Heather advises junior professionals to approach their career as a journey, continue to learn and be willing to share knowledge and advice in constructive ways. She acknowledges that there will be many times that opportunities will inspire you and there will be many tasks that just need to get done. She stresses, “Look for the positive in all that you do”.
Away from the office, Heather enjoys reading, hiking, skiing, kayaking, cycling, and sailing.
Associated Engineering enhances focus on data management
As part of Associated Engineering’s growing focus on data management, we are pleased to announce that Judy Yu has been appointed to the position of Discipline Lead, Data Management and ITS, with a focus on data management and transportation industries.
Over the course of her 22-year career, Judy has specialized in modernizing and streamlining business operations through the combined power of data science and technology advancements. In her new position, Judy will lead specialized teams through delivery of this service, while supporting effective technology implementation and data driven decision-making practices.
Judy actively participates in advancing the adoption of technology and the understanding of data at the national level through organizations such as Data Management International, Transportation Association of Canada, Intelligent Transportation Systems Canada, the Standards Council of Canada, and the Transportation Research Board. She is committed to helping others embrace technology for business and continuous improvement.
Judy will focus on providing clients with the technical and strategic expertise to integrate technology and navigate through successful change management, in the unique context of infrastructure ownership and public service provision.
We look forward to supporting her new team based in Calgary, as she expands our services in these disciplines. Congratulations Judy!
Associated Engineering at annual AWWOA Operators Seminar (March 14-18, 2022)
Associated Engineering is pleased to participate next week in the Alberta Water & Wastewater Operators Association’s 47th Annual Operators Seminar taking place in Banff, AB. Members of our staff are presenting on a variety of important water and wastewater topics and projects in a pre-seminar workshop, as well as the technical session. We look forward to seeing everyone in person once again and welcome attendees to join our presenters’ sessions!
Alberta South Transportation reorganizes to accommodate growing portfolio
(left to right: Simon Cook, Derek Blayney, Jeff Belziuk, Jim Zagas, and Nadeer Lalji)
The Alberta South Transportation Division has experienced remarkable and rapid expansion over the past five years, and secured several high profile and significant infrastructure assignments. During this period of growth, the team has responded to our clients needs by increasing to over 40 staff members to keep pace with project demands. In our effort to better serve our valued clients and support our dedicated staff, we are pleased to announce the following managerial appointments.
Simon Cook, P.Eng., Manager, Transportation Structures
Simon joined Associated Engineering in 2008 and has over 19 years of experience designing transportation structures and delivering infrastructure projects. His experience includes detailed design of bridges and underground structures, evaluation and strengthening techniques for existing structures, and on-site construction management. Simon has prepared structural designs for several large scale projects, including the West Calgary Ring Road, Crowchild Trail Bridge Widening, and the Flanders Avenue Interchange. His natural mentoring abilities, experience, and collaborative approach will benefit the team of design engineers in the Transportation Structures group.
Derek Blayney, P.Eng. PMP, Manager, Roads & Aviation
Since joining Associated Engineering in 2019, Derek has supported the growth of our national Aviation practice with his strong leadership and ability to understand and respond to client challenges. An accomplished project and client manager with 13 years of experience, Derek has supported the procurement, design, and delivery of airport projects across Canada requiring new systems and upgrades to existing infrastructure. Derek’s previous experience includes working for the Calgary Airport Authority and previous consulting experience. He will lead our team of aviation and transportation design engineers and CADD technologists delivering current projects, while he works to expand the roads, highways, and aviation practices.
Jeff Belziuk, P.Eng., Manager, Transportation Project Delivery
Jeff joined Associated Engineering in early 2021 and has over 20 years of civil design, construction, and transportation engineering experience. He brings industry knowledge and a technical acumen that stems from his diverse background working for both public and private clients on conventional and alternative delivery projects. Jeff specializes in design, procurement, construction management, and scheduling functions on large scale transportation projects. In his new role, Jeff will oversee the group of professional engineers and technologists dedicated to project delivery, including the West Calgary Ring Road and Deerfoot Trail Improvement Project.
All three individuals will be instrumental in strengthening our service offering and expanding the Division’s portfolio. Collectively, they bring a diverse set of qualifications and experiences that will elevate our commitment to technical excellence, innovative solutions, and responsive client service in our industry. Simon, Derek, and Jeff will continue to report directly to Division Manager, Jim Zagas.
In addition to these managerial appointments, several other members of our team have been promoted to new technical and client service leadership roles.
Congratulates Simon, Derek, and Jeff on your new roles!