Toronto and Vancouver consortia shortlisted for Edmonton highway

The Alberta Ministry of Transportation has shortlisted three teams for its first major highway project using the public-private partnership or “P3” method. Under such projects, the contractor takes responsibility for all design, construction, operation and maintenance.
The project is to design, build and operate the southeast leg of the Edmonton Ring Road, a multi-lane road that will extend Anthony Henday Drive, north of Ellerslie Road, to Highway 216 (previously Highway 14).
The 11-kilometre highway, which includes 22 bridge structures as well as interchanges and flyovers, is expected to cost $300 million by conventional methods. The government is hoping that the participation of private companies will lower that. The federal government is giving $75 million.
The three teams shortlisted are the Alberta Road Development Company, led by Borealis Infrastructure Management of Toronto, Alberta Structures and Highways Consortium, led by MacQuarie North America of Vancouver, and Henday Transportation Group led by Bilfinger Berger BOT of Toronto. The names of consulting engineering firms involved in the teams has not been released.
The Requests for proposals will be sent out in a month, says the department, and it hopes to have selected the winning team by this fall. They are planning on completing construction by 2007.
Other examples of P3 projects in Canada are the Fredericton-Moncton Highway in New Brunswick, Confederation Bridge in P.E.I. and Highway 407 in Ontario. Unlike the latter two routes, however, the Edmonton ring road will not be a toll road.