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Roadbuilding

July 2, 2008

New tunnel safety regulation opposed by British Columbia unions

Two groups representing unionized construction workers in British Columbia are voicing their opposition to proposed changes to safety regulations for tunnelling.

June 20, 2008

Ultra high-performance concrete formulation extends material’s limits

When I first wrote about ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) almost seven years ago, it was a new product that had grown out of a concept that was, itself, little more than a decade old, writes Daily Commercial News columnist Korky Koroluk.

May 30, 2008

Communications providers bypass Big Dig’s hidden duct system

Boston’s Big Dig engineers thought they were making a wise investment by spending millions of dollars building a series of hidden compartments that were meant to someday carry unsightly utility cables through the tunnels.

May 28, 2008

Rising asphalt prices cut into Mississippi’s paving plans

The Mississippi Department of Transportation plans to spend between US$55 million and US$60 million on road overlays in fiscal 2009, up about USUS$10 million past few years, according to the Jackson, Miss. Clarion-Ledger.

May 23, 2008

New cables help bridges ride out earthquakes

Shape memory alloys (SMAs)t appear to hold out the promise of bridge decks that snap back into position after an earthquake.

May 20, 2008

Less road work, fewer repairs as asphalt prices hit $676.47 per tonne

The Ministry of Transportation Ontario has kicked off the spring construction season by posting its new asphalt price index benchmark at $676.47 per tonne, leading to predictions that less paving work will be done this year.

May 1, 2008

Government announces plans for $1.6-billion Windsor-Essex Parkway

The new Windsor-Essex Parkway will include two kilometres of tunnel sections, while the rest will be built below-grade to minimize traffic noise and exhaust in neighbourhoods. It will be five times more expensive per kilometre than any highway previously built in Ontario.

April 28, 2008

Rebar fall won’t delay Pitt River bridge job

Workers building the new Pitt River Bridge are assessing the damage and developing a plan for repairing the structure after a rebar column toppled.

April 14, 2008

TRIP Canada cheers record highway spending by provinces

Provinces are spending more on highways this year than ever before and six of them are setting record highs, according to TRIP Canada’s annual provincial highways budget report.

April 10, 2008

Floating bridge on British Columbia lake overcomes early delays

Motorists will be crossing Okanagan Lake on the new William R. Bennett Bridge sooner than expected.

February 29, 2008

Meeting environment regulations can be planned

Finding ways in which road builders can plan for and work within environmental regulations is the goal of a new Road Building Academy environmental course.

February 29, 2008

Give trades’ compulsory certification a lot more thought

While the media snoozed through the winter, preoccupied with snow storms and a new holiday that didn’t work out perfectly in its first run-through, public consultations have been going on that could conceivably lead to legislation that would require all construction tradespeople to be certified.

February 29, 2008

Hybrid trucks gaining attention as new fleet option

It’s big. It’s ugly. It has a unique electric drive train called ProPulse. And it could point the way for on and off-road hauling in the future. It’s called HEMTT A3, it’s ready for full production, and it’s about to enter service with the U.S. military.

February 29, 2008

Commuter traffic will gain new corridor as work done daily underfoot and undercover

Under ground and under the radar of passersby, a $40 million Simcoe Street tunnel extension has required military precision to build in one of North America’s busiest railway corridors.

February 29, 2008

Paver of the Year Miller Northwest takes outstanding honour

Miller Northwest Limited took home top honours at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s (MTO) Paver of The Year Awards, presented at the annual convention of the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA).

February 29, 2008

Safety Awards

Routly Safety awards were presented at the recent ORBA conference.

February 29, 2008

Corridor Manager will be ‘go to’ for projects

Acting on a suggestion by the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA), the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has agreed to create a new supervisory position — Corridor Manager — for long-term Highways 69 and 11 projects in northeastern Ontario.

February 29, 2008

MTO considers applying international quality index

The International Roughness Index (IRI) has been used by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for more than a decade as an internal benchmark for the smoothness of the province’s road surfaces.

February 29, 2008

Peers laud Steed, Evans for stellar contributions

Newly-minted Ontario Road Building Hall of Fame members Roy Steed and Denis Evans not only made their mark in business, they also broke new ground in employer-employee relationships.

February 29, 2008

Paving time

Except during recent snow storms, it’s always paving time in Toronto, which means road closures and traffic headaches. But building and maintaining infrastructure is vital to the province’s economy.

February 29, 2008

Peat bog highway beds under intensive study

A peat bog might seem to be an unlikely place to build a highway interchange, but that’s exactly where the first bridge of an interchange near Seattle was built in 1940, and engineers with the state transportation department have been living with it ever since.

February 29, 2008

Filmport paving

Furfari Paving Co. Ltd. lays down some fresh asphalt at phase one of the Filmport complex, part of the Toronto Film Studios project.