CLR Connector UPDATES FROM BC INFRASTRUCTURE BENEFITS (BCIB)
Some of the province’s largest infrastructure investments are being built using BC’s Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). BCIB is the employer on these projects. Its role is to grow and diversify the skilled trades workforce while providing the labour contractors need to build.
BCIB is building opportunity here in British Columbia for workers, and for contractors looking to expand their labour pool.
Currently, BCIB employs more than 1,000 active workers on CBA projects and, to date, has filled more than 3,000 positions across 9 projects throughout the province.
Prime Contractor Announcement
Ford Road and Tappen Valley Road – A $128-million contract for the project has been awarded to Emil Anderson Construction Inc. The Ford Road to Tappen Valley Road Four-Laning project will upgrade approximately 4.3 km of the Trans-Canada Highway and replace the Tappen Overhead bridge. The western limit of the project begins at Ford Road and extends through to its terminus 400 metres east of Tappen Valley Road. Work is expected to begin this fall and last for three construction seasons. Read more.
Projects in Procurement
Jumping Creek to MacDonald Snowshed – in procurement. The project is located approximately 40 kilometres east of Revelstoke and involves the design and construction of improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway. Improvements include: 2.6 km of highway upgrades, rockfall and avalanche mitigation, climate change resiliency, and installing median dividers and roadside barriers. Read more.
Surrey Langley SkyTrain: – in procurement. This project consists of three separate contracts: Guideway, Stations, and Systems & Trackwork. The RFQ phase is now complete. RFPs for all contracts are being considered.
BCIT Trades and Technology Complex Project – in procurement. Details about the project can be found in a recent project presentation.
Vancouver Island update
Cowichan District Hospital Replacement Project – in construction. Nearly 200 workers are now on site. Three cranes are up and work has started on the stair and elevator shafts. Form work is taking place, pouring concrete slabs is ongoing with mechanical and electrical work in conjunction. Continuous excavation is active throughout the site.
Updates from the Lower Mainland
Broadway Subway Project – in construction. There are more than 600 workers on this project working six station sites and an elevated guideway connecting VCC-Clark station to the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr station. Both Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) are working at the Broadway City Hall station site.
Pattullo Bridge Replacement Project – in construction. Shipments of steel are on the way. Preparations are being made to onboard more ironworkers to the project. The superstructure has officially passed the 2/3 mark for the final height. Crews continue work on the north and south approaches, as well as multiuser path structures.
Highway 1 – Kamloops to Alberta Four Laning Program
Salmon Arm – complete. This portion of the Highway 1 Kamloops to Alberta program involved widening a 2.2 km section of highway to four lanes from 1st Ave. SW to 10th Ave. SW in Salmon Arm. Other improvements included replacing the Salmon River Bridge, upgrading intersections, construction of a new interchange, constructing new frontage roads, and a multi-use pathway.
Chase East and Chase West – in construction. The new intersection of Highway 1 and Shuswap Avenue West is now open to traffic. This will be completed to its full configuration in the spring of 2023.
Kicking Horse – in construction. Work continues on this 4.8-kilometre section of narrow, winding two-lane road that will be converted to a modern four-lane standard, making a safer, more reliable route for people traveling through the Kicking Horse Canyon.
Quartz Creek Bridge – in construction. This portion of the Highway 1 Kamloops to Alberta program involves replacing the two-lane bridge crossing at Quartz Creek, 40 km west of Golden, with a new four-lane bridge, access improvements to forest service roads and widening 4.4 km of two-lane highway to four lanes.
If you’re a contractor who wants to help us build legacy projects and you have questions about working with the CBA, please contact CLR or BCIB directly. If you’re not working on a CBA project but would like help sourcing the workforce, we can help. To learn more visit BCIB.ca or email contractor@bcib.ca.