:: Glenrosa Interchange

In 1999, EAC was awarded the $7.5 million contract to design and build the Glenrosa interchange, which eliminated the dangerous intersection at the junction of Highway 97, and Glenrosa Road.

The project was the first design/construct highway project in the interior of British Columbia. Challenges included an onerous nine months design/construct schedule; major traffic control and detours on Highway 97 the most heavily traveled route in the Okanagan Valley; detours and rerouting for the Glenrosa neighbourhood; extensive neighbourhood relations surrounding perceived parkland; and ensuring ongoing access to Gorman Bros. Sawmill.

The Vedder Road Interchange in Chilliwack, BC was originally constructed in 1959. However, by 2003 traffic volumes had increased to the point where there were substantial delays daily. The City of Chilliwack partnered with the BC Ministry of Transportation and the Federal Infrastructure Program to build a replacement that would carry projected traffic flows beyond 2020.

The evaluation matrix required the lowest cost proposal and resulted in the EAC submission augmenting the existing structure. Through negotiation with the Owner, it was possible to provide an all-new, five-lane structure instead of refurbishing the original 2-lane structure. Additional enhancements included lengthening ramps and merge lanes and providing extra signage.

The enhancements were negotiated with a win-win attitude between EAC and the Owner and clearly demonstrated the value of a strong Partnering approach. The project was completed five months ahead of schedule even though there were several additions to the scope. The project won an award for 2004 Public Works Project of the Year.

The Campbell Road Interchange in Westbank was the first major highway project in British Columbia to be managed by a First Nation. This project adjoined the W.R. Bennett Bridge, on which EAC was a major sub-contractor and EAC was able to optimize solutions to benefit both projects.

EAC was able to complete the project while nearly eliminating construction impacts to the 50,000 vehicles per day traffic. The project includes a 5-lane overpass for Highway 97 traffic and a dumbbell-roundabout layout for the local traffic.

The project was completed on time and on budget and is another example of innovative design-build construction by Emil Anderson Construction.

EAC was the Roadways sub-contractor to the SNC Lavalin Conessionaire Group on the WR Bennett Bridge DBFO Project in Kelowna. This portion of Highway 97 is the most congested stretch of highway outside of British Columbia’s Lower Mainland.

As part of the WR Bennett Bridge Group Team, EAC’s contract was to construct the approaches to the bridge and manage the traffic flow. Three lanes of the existing crossing complete with counter-flow center lane were kept fully functioning while the new 5-lane crosing was built. The majority of works were contructed at night dependent on stage of traffic location and some round the clock operations to facilitate the transitions between stages.

The west causeway leading to the elevated portion of the bridge was constructed over the soft soils of Okanagan Lake. The soils were pre-loaded for a 12 month period then removed and replaced by a light-weight fill of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS). The Project opened for full traffic flow 100 days ahead of schedule.