Vancouver Rapid Transit Line wins top national engineering award

The 2010 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards were presented on Tuesday evening at a gala dinner at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa. Nearly 200 guests were in attendance including parliamentarians and other dignitaries.
Held annually for 42 years, the awards are Canada’s highest mark of recognition for projects by Canadian consulting engineering firms. The program is held jointly by the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC)/L’Association des firmes d’ingénieurs-conseils (AFIC) and Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine.
This year a record 73 engineering projects were entered.
Two special awards, and 10 awards of excellence, were given.

SCHREYER AWARD (for most technically innovative project):
– Canada Line Rapid Transit Project, Vancouver, B.C.
SNC-Lavalin Inc.
Measuring over 18 kilometres, the automated rapid transit line connects downtown Vancouver with the Vancouver International Airport and the City of Richmond. The $1.9-billion project includes 16 stations, as well as water crossings, and elevated and underground sections. SNC-Lavalin Inc. designed, built and commissioned the line 110 days ahead of a 51-month schedule.

TREE FOR LIFE AWARD (for outstanding environmental stewardship):
– Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, Calgary, Alberta.
CH2M HILL
The new plant is a shining example of preserving natural resources while establishing new effluent quality standards. It processes 100 million litres a day (100 ML/d) using next-generation technologies such as Biological Nutrient Removal and Ultra-Violet disinfection. The facilities’ sustainable features also include energy management, water re-use and green roofs.

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE:
Buildings:
– Manitoba Hydro Downtown Office Building, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
AECOM Canada Ltd. and Crosier Kilgour & Partners Ltd.

– Richmond Olympic Oval, Richmond, B.C.
Fast + Epp and Glotman Simpson

Transportation:
– Kingsway Pedestrian Bridge, Burnaby, B.C.
Fast + Epp

Water Resources:
– Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, Calgary, Alberta.
CH2M HILL

– Ravensview Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades, Kingston, Ont.
J. L. Richards & Associates Limited

– Tatamagouche Water Treatment Plant, N.S.
CBCL Limited, Consulting Engineers

Environmental Remediation:
– Joseph and Gaukel Streets Road Reconstruction and Environmental Remediation, Kitchener, Ont.
MTE Consultants Inc.

Natural Resources, Industry & Energy:
– CANDU Steam Generator Replacement at Bruce A Units 1&2, Kincardine, Ont.
SNC-Lavalin Nuclear, Inc.

– Nam Theun 2 Hydro Project, Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Klohn Crippen Berger (Vancouver)

International:
– Water Transfer from Taksebt Dam, Algeria
SNC-Lavalin Inc. (Montreal)

The judging panel consisted of 11 distinguished engineers from academia, government and industry. The jury chair was Mr. Claude Benton Robert, ing. of Ottawa.

The award-winning projects are described in full in Canadian Consulting Engineer’s October-November 2010 issue. See www.canadianconsultingengineer.com