Major Mackenzie Drive Culvert Replacement

MAJOR MACKENZIE DRIVE CULVERT REPLACEMENT PROJECT Successfully Planning, Executing, and Minimizing the Impacts of an eight-week, Double Culvert Construction Under a Major Urban Arterial

Ontario Public Works Association Award Submissions 2019 Public Works Project of the Year The Regional Municipality of York Transportation Services TABLE OF CONTENTS

Project Overview...... 1 Project Background...... 2 Construction Management and Schedule...... 4 Construction Safety...... 6 Community Relations...... 8 Protecting the Environment...... 12 Accomplishments under Adverse Conditions...... 14 Why this Project is Important...... 16 Conclusion...... 17 PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Regional Municipality of York (York Region) recently undertook Given the various sensitivities surrounding the temporary road an emergency culvert replacement for a large 50-year old corrugated closure, York Region pre-qualified three top general contractors steel pipe arch (CSPA) culvert in the City of Vaughan. The culvert to bid on this project. Coco Paving Inc. was awarded the contract. conveys the West Don River under Major Mackenzie Drive, one of By working 24-hours a day, including weekends and holidays, Coco the busiest urban arterial roads in York Region. The condition of the Paving Inc. was able to re-open the road almost three weeks ahead existing culvert required a temporary full closure of Major Mackenzie of schedule, despite running into a number of complications. During Drive to safely and efficiently carry out the work, which had to be the eight-week construction period, the project team was able to: completed within a two month timeframe in order to comply with environmental in-water work timing restrictions. • Remove all impacted asphalt, granular material, curbs and sidewalk from the project site During consultations with the City of Vaughan, it was requested that the project incorporate critical pieces of city infrastructure. This • Excavate the existing 8 metre high earth fill embankment included a second perched culvert to facilitate pedestrian and cycling (approximately 10,000 cubic metres of soil, of which 5,800 cubic passage under Major Mackenzie Drive, a watermain connection metres required special disposal as it was contaminated) to to support the new Mackenzie Health Vaughan Hospital and new expose the CSPA culvert multi-use pathways. • Construct a temporary diversion of the West Don River to permit There were several technical and logistical challenges associated work “in the dry” with expanding the project scope to include the City’s infrastructure. However, it was also recognized that the temporary road closure • Secure a permit from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario provided a unique opportunity to implement a piece of infrastructure (MTO) to allow overnight delivery of the 53 large precast culvert that could be enjoyed by the community for generations to come units on Highway 400. This was to further mitigate traffic impacts and therefore, the decision was made early in the process to include of having oversize loads delivered to the site during congested the City’s infrastructure as part of our project. daytime hours

York Region’s engineering consultant, HDR Corporation, worked • Install the drainage and pedestrian culverts using a large 600 hard to expedite the detailed design, permit requirements and utility tonne crane conflict resolutions for the two new culverts. In order to meet some very constrained timelines, York Region pre-ordered the two new • Realign the West Don River to the new drainage culvert location concrete box culverts in early spring 2019 through a tender process from Decast Ltd. The first culvert was a 52 metre long, 6 metre by 3.5 • Install a new oil-grit separator unit to treat storm run-off prior to metre precast concrete structure that would convey the West Don entering the watershed River. The second culvert was a 44 metre long, 6 metre by 3 metre precast concrete box culvert that would serve as the pedestrian and • Install a new 5 metre high RSS wall and a new 2.7 metre high cast cycling underpass for the City of Vaughan. in-place retaining wall

1 • Install, test and commission a new 400 millimetre watermain connection within our project limits PROJECT BACKGROUND

• Reinstate an existing sanitary sewer within our project limits The West Don River crosses Major Mackenzie Drive through a large CSPA culvert (4.7m x 2.9m x 58m), that was installed in 1968, just • Install a new and upgraded storm sewer system within our east of McNaughton/Avro Road in the City of Vaughan. During an project limits Environmental Assessment for Operational Improvements to Major Mackenzie Drive in 2018, it was found that the structural integrity • Reinstate the pavement structure for Major Mackenzie Drive of the culvert had deteriorated significantly over the last two years. based on geotechnical recommendations Inspections of all Regional structures are undertaken every two years. • Install new curbs and new multi-use paths on both sides of At the latest 2016 inspection, the culvert was observed to be stable the road and was rated as being in “fair to poor” condition. The intention was to review the culvert replacement as part of the ongoing Delivery of the project involved a tremendous amount of planning Environmental Assessment and plan the replacement accordingly. across various departments and agencies, construction coordination However, when the structure was inspected in spring 2018, it and public engagement. The project was a great success as the road was discovered that the culvert deterioration had significantly was reopened in eight weeks, well ahead of schedule. In order to accelerated, with severe buckling of the floor plates. achieve the eight-week delivery timeline, York Region implemented innovative procurement, construction management and public engagement techniques. We are pleased to submit this project for your consideration in the 2019 Public Works Project of the Year Awards.

Culvert before

2 Structural engineers confirmed that the existing culvert was in A constructability review was carried out in February 2019 due to the immediate need of replacement due to significant structural culvert designs revealing a significant risk if a staged construction degradation. Failure of the culvert could result in the collapse of approach was attempted to complete this emergency work. The the structure, embankment and roadway. York Region decided to primary concern was the existing culvert might not withstand the proceed with the culvert replacement separately from the rest of pressure and vibration caused during installation of piles for the the recommendations of the Environmental Assessment study. temporary roadway protection system. Major Mackenzie Drive is a busy, four-lane arterial road in the heart of the City of Vaughan, A bi-weekly monitoring program was initiated in June 2018 to with average annual daily traffic of approximately 35,000 vehicles. monitor signs of any further culvert degradation. This was completed The risk of collapse would have been greatly compounded by the while a temporary bracing system to stabilize the structure and presence of workers and live traffic on Major Mackenzie Drive permanent culvert replacements were both being designed. during construction.

Installation of the temporary bracing system was completed in To mitigate this risk, staff recommended a full closure of Major January 2019. While the bracing was substantial, it was designed to Mackenzie Drive, immediately east and west of the culvert location safely support live loads for a period of one-year from the time of to facilitate safe removal and replacement of the culvert. installation.

Culvert temporary bracing Culvert temporary bracing

3 through logistical challenges (emergency medical services, transit, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND SCHEDULE detour routes, signal timing adjustments, etc.), and having a strong community engagement plan and process in-place to deal with Timing was critical at all stages of this project, from planning to questions and concerns from local residents and business owners, as construction. While the delivery of this infrastructure in eight weeks well as frequent road users and daily commuters. is an impressive feat, there was a substantial amount of work that occurred prior to the contractor coming on board to make this It was imperative that the Region and our contractor maintained possible. good public relations and that we were doing everything we could to accelerate the construction work. In order to meet the delivery Once the Region learned of the precarious condition of the existing timeline, York Region facilitated the following: culvert, we arranged for the design, procurement and installation of a temporary bracing system inside the existing culvert to prevent it • Secured corporate and political backing for the project. It was from collapsing before it could be replaced. The temporary bracing expected that closing Major Mackenzie Drive in the heart was installed over the winter and was designed to carry live loads of Vaughan over the summer months would lead to significant only. This was done to ensure the culvert would not suddenly pushback from the community and business owners. To help collapse when the bracing was removed during the subsequent visualize the unique site restrictions that make a full closure culvert removal operation. necessary, York Region directed our university co-op students to create a physical 3D scale model of the site showing the before The Region also pre-ordered two large precast concrete culverts and after conditions. This model was crucial in helping to directly from a supplier before having a general contractor on board. communicate to the public the scale of the proposed This was completed through a competitive tendering process that undertaking and the various challenges associated with the occurred while the detailed design was still being finalized. Decast culvert replacement Ltd. was the successful supplier.

Pre-ordering the culverts in early spring 2019 provided sufficient lead time for all 53 precast units to be manufactured and ready in time for the start of construction. It was known from discussions with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), that this work had to be completed over the summer months in order to comply with environmental in-water work timing restrictions (July 1 to September 15, 2019).

A full road closure starting on June 17, 2019 allowed the contractor sufficient time to mobilize and excavate the 8 metre high earth fill embankment, remove the existing CSPA culvert, and prepare the granular bedding for the new structures. The precast culvert units were delivered and ready for installation on July 4, 2019.

There were many complicated issues associated with closing a major arterial road like Major Mackenzie Drive over the summer months.Model of culvert These conditions included before garnering political support, sorting Model of culvert conditions before 4 • Political and senior management support also ensured that this • The tender contract was based on milestone delivery dates versus project would be a Regional priority across all departments. This working days. The contract made it clear that inclement weather greatly accelerated procurement and legal review times, as the days (rain days) could not be used to request an extension to the project was automatically placed at the “top of the list” milestone delivery dates. The contractor was given the opportunity to build buffers into their schedule by working • To ensure that a reputable and experienced contractor was 24-hours a day, including weekends and holidays. Two milestones awarded the work, the Region issued a request for were written into the contract. The first (interim) milestone was pre-qualification (RFPQ). The pre-qualification criteria was very to reopen the road to traffic. The second milestone was to specific to the unique needs of this project, such as: experience complete all remaining work with deep excavations, accelerated construction schedules, working in a highly urbanized environment and a minimum of • A performance incentive (bonus) was built into the tender two construction crews dedicated to the project at all times contract to encourage the contractor to open the road ahead of the interim milestone date. The contractor would receive • Confirmation was received from the City of Vaughan that a $40,000.00 per day for each day that the road was opened noise bylaw exemption was not needed for this project, as it was in advance of the interim milestone date – up to a maximum of considered necessary work. The contractor would be permitted $200,000.00 to work 24-hours a day, including weekends and holidays, to complete the work • Strict liquidated damages (LDs) clauses were also written into the contract. These included LDs in the amount of $20,000.00 per day for each day that the road remained closed after the interim milestone date with no upset limit. Additionally, there would be LDs in the amount of $10,000.00 per day for each day that the remaining work was not completed by the specified end milestone date again, with no upset limit. In the event that the road was still not open to traffic by the time the second milestone came to effect, the two LDs would accrue concurrently

• Due to the extremely constrained timelines, contractors were encouraged to apply for utility locates during the tender bidding period. This action was discussed with utility providers in advance and helped to ensure that the successful contractor could start the work as quickly as possible

Model of culvert conditions after

5 Coco Paving Inc. was awarded the project on June 4, 2019, and received formal notification to commence the work on June 14, CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 2019. The road was officially closed on June 17, 2019. York Region and Coco Paving Inc. agreed on weekly site meetings to ensure Public and worker safety was at the core of this project. A project momentum and to quickly resolve any issues. The City of constructability review was undertaken in February 2019 and Vaughan was also an active participant at these weekly meetings concluded that the replacement of the existing CSPA culvert should due to their vested interest in the pedestrian culvert. not be undertaken using a staged construction approach. This was due to the severely deteriorated condition of the large structure, To emphasize the importance of this project to the Region, York which was built in 1968 and had recently shown signs of severe Region’s Manager of Engineering, Project Manager, on-site deterioration. The primary concern was that the existing culvert may Construction Administrator, and full-time Construction Inspector not be able to withstand the pressure and vibration caused during attended these weekly meetings. Standing items of discussion the installation of piles and lagging for the 8 metre high temporary included progress for the previous week, work to be undertaken the roadway protection system. following week, overall construction schedule, status of any change orders, issues that may impact the schedule or ability to deliver the Sudden failure of this culvert during construction could have resulted work and site safety. in the collapse of the culvert, embankment and roadway. This in turn would have impeded the flow of the West Don River, possibly causing Coco Paving Inc. clearly understood the importance of this project upstream flooding and damage to other critical infrastructure such to the Region and took full advantage of favourable weather as the City of Vaughan sanitary sewer and watermain. This risk of conditions by assigning multiple crews to work 24-hours a day, collapse would have been greatly compounded by the presence including weekends and holidays. While working around the clock of workers and live traffic on Major Mackenzie Drive during helped Coco Paving Inc. build buffers into their schedule, it also construction. helped immensely with the Region’s public relations efforts. The public began to understand and accept that the team was doing Given the deteriorated state of the 50-year old culvert, environmental everything we could to accelerate construction and reopen the road timing restrictions and our continued commitment to safety, a as quickly as possible. closure of this section of Major Mackenzie Drive was recommended. Due to the significant amount of work that had to be completed Working closely with our Contractor and our City partners was a in a very short time, the Contractor had numerous pieces of heavy critical step in the team’s ability to accelerate delivery of this project. construction equipment on site at all times. To complicate matters, We were able to quickly assess unexpected challenges and provide multiple crews were working on a 24-hour construction schedule timely direction when needed. Our communications with the public to accelerate the work and take advantage of favourable weather had indicated that Major Mackenzie Drive would remain closed conditions. With so much activity in a very constrained site, until August 30, 2019, which was the design consultant’s estimate. construction safety was of paramount importance. However, through significant commitment, innovation and effort, the project team was able to reopen the road to the public on August 12, 2019, almost three weeks ahead of schedule. The positive feedback received by our ability to deliver this important piece of infrastructure ahead of schedule has been overwhelming.

7 Work site safety was a standing item at all of our weekly site meetings with the Contractor. Emergency response contacts were kept up-to- COMMUNITY RELATIONS date throughout the duration of construction. Contractors bidding on this project were also required to be Certificate of Recognition An extensive communication strategy was implemented with a (COR) Certified. This provided the Region with assurance that the focus on digital communications, customer service and community Contractor and their staff had undergone rigorous health and safety outreach. The goal of the strategy was not only to inform the public training. There were zero injuries reported over the duration of the in advance of the road closure, but to keep stakeholders informed contract. and updated throughout the project.

The pre-qualification criteria used to shortlist the General Communication tactics included: Contractors included a health and safety component. York Region also has a formal, Council-approved Contractor/Constructor Safety • Meetings with local municipal staff and stakeholders Policy which promotes hazard awareness and outlines the Region’s expectations for health and safety on construction projects. • Meetings with Vaughan Council members

The construction site was fully closed off to the public on June 17, • Notifications emailed to various community stakeholders such 2019. At that time, steel fence barriers and temporary concrete as emergency services, local schools, transit agencies, internal and barriers were erected across the road to prevent pedestrians from external staff, etc. accidentally wandering into the construction zone. • Weekly meetings with City of Vaughan communications staff

• Weekly email updates to the Chairman’s Office and

Regional Council

• Information posted on the York Region websites, york.ca, yrt.ca, including a frequently asked questions section

• Advertisements posted in two local municipal newspapers: Vaughan Citizen and Richmond Hill Liberal, as well as the Italian community newspaper, Lo Specchio

• Media advisory

• Mail pieces were delivered via Canada Post to over 16,000 area residents and businesses, including: o Notice of Construction letter delivered one-month before the project start o Postcard delivered one week before project start o Three e-news updates sent to a dedicated subscription list Road closure

8 • Electronic message boards placed around the area to provide advance notification

• Signage posted at Vaughan City Hall

• Information distributed at community outreach events and to area businesses, local libraries and community centres, schools and churches, city hall and various shops and gas stations

• Weekly drone videos of the project area posted on york.ca and shared on social media

• Article posted in York Region’s e-newsletter, #YRmatters

• Article printed in York Region’s quarterly newsletter, York Region Matters, and mailed to every home in the Region

• Article posted on York Region’s staff portal, York Beat

• Radio spots on 105.9 The Region and 680 News

• Transit information on bus detours and shuttle information posted on York Region Transit’s website, yrt.ca, social media channels at the affected bus stops

• A dedicated email and phone line, overseen by Customer Service, to respond to resident inquiries and concerns, and political inquiries

• Attendance at various community outreach events

• Face-to-face outreach to local businesses

9 Digital communications – website and social media:

Maintaining the project webpage played a key role in the success of the communications strategy for this project. The webpage was given a friendly URL (york.ca/majormackclosure) which allowed people to easily remember the site. The webpage also housed a list of frequently asked questions about the project construction, as well as a one minute video that explained the work that was being done.

All communication pieces that were developed directed the audience to the webpage for more information and updates. Given the ever changing and unpredictability of construction, the webpage was a reliable channel in receiving the most up to date information.

During construction, the team posted a weekly update on york.ca/ majormackclosure with images of the work in progress and a drone video. These updates were also shared on Twitter and Facebook.

The webpage proved successful in keeping the public well-informed about the project. By late September, the webpage had nearly 8,000 Public engagement page views.

Community outreach – local events and business engagement

Local community events: Public Information Centre:

Staff communicated the project during the City of Vaughan Public A Public Information Centre (PIC) was held on May 29, 2019 to allow Engagement Forum on April 23, 2019 at Vaughan Mills Mall. The the public the opportunity to meet the project team, learn more about project team had a display board and spoke with residents and the project and ask questions. The PIC was communicated through shoppers about the project. the initial letter mailed to area residents, newspaper ad, media advisory, on-street signs and online channels. Staff from Capital In addition, a booth was set-up at the City of Vaughan’s Public Works Planning and Delivery, York Region Transit (YRT), Communications Day event on May 25, 2019. The booth included display boards, a 3D and City of Vaughan were in attendance at the event. model of the project, postcards and promotional giveaways for the public.

10 Business engagement and support: Dedicated phone line and email:

The project team and communications staff paid several visits to area Contact information was published on all print and digital businesses throughout the duration of the project. Staff answered communication pieces that the public could refer to for questions any questions or concerns, provided postcards that the businesses or concerns. Dedicated customer service staff oversaw all email and could hand out to their customers, posters to place at the front of phone inquiries, ensuring residents were responded to within a their stores, and collected emails for the project mailing list. timely manner. All inquiries and concerns were tracked in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that allowed for seamless Following the successful model from the York Region Rapid Transit tracking and reporting. Corporation, “Open for Business” signs were installed at business entrances to help ensure the public knew that area businesses On-street support and shuttle service: remained open during the closure. Business detour signs were also installed around the area to help motorists navigate to the area During the first week of the closure, staff was on location to provide businesses during the road closure. customer service support to pedestrians, cyclists and area businesses.

In addition, a shuttle service was provided to assist pedestrians with diverting around the closure. The shuttle was operated by a York Region Transit accessible sedan, and serviced two bus stops on either side of the road closure. Pedestrians wishing to travel around the closure were also offered free transit service when boarding a bus in the area.

Business signs

Customer service

Providing excellent customer service is a top priority for Transportation Services, and the Region as a whole. Knowing the magnitude of the impact of the road closure, this was a high priority for the communications strategy.

11 Comments from Regional Councillor Linda Jackson during the June 27 Council Meeting: PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

A big thank you to staff. They are listening to residents and getting Given the urgent need to replace the failed culvert, York Region back to them. Council appreciates being so informed about the work worked closely with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority being done. We are getting regular updates and it is appreciated. to secure a permit for this work. Because the culvert conveys the Excellent job communicating. West Don River, there were a number of environmental and timing restrictions that had to be adhered to. W N T R C In order to comply with the in-water work environmental timing MAJOR MACKENZIE DRIVE WEST • Replacing a culvert on Major Mackenzie Drive West from McNaughton Road/Avro Road to 250 metres east of McNaughton Road/Avro Road • Major Mackenzie Drive West, from McNaughton Road/Avro Road to 250 metres easterly, is scheduled restrictions, all channel realignment work had to be completed June 17 to August 30, 2019 to be closed from June 17 to August 30, 2019 City of Vaughan • A full closure of the road is required to ensure the work is completed as quickly, e ciently and between July 1, 2019 and September 15, 2019. Numerous safely as possible City of Vaughan Maple Keele Street Community Centre

Maple Library Businesses • Access to all properties will be maintained environmental specialists were involved in the design and

OPEN Railway Street

During Construction Killian Road • Work may also occur during the night, as well as weekends and holidays McNaughton Road construction of the river channel.

Civic Centre Resource Library Melville Avenue

Apple Tree Montessori Major Mackenzie Drive West

Netherford Road

Jane Street W Avro RoadSaint David’s Parish In its commitment to environmental excellence, York Region had Road closure • It is not possible to keep the road open during construction because the culvert may collapse Existing culvert previously carried out a pre-qualification process to shortlist a group • A closure of this section of Major Mackenzie Drive was recommended due to the environmental Visit york.ca/majormackclosure for more details restrictions and our continued commitment to safety of preferred environmental sub-contractors. Through their pre- Store Window Sign qualification, York Region had confidence that these sub-contractors had the experience, resources and knowledge to undertake

North east wingwall, wide vertical crack at corner joint environmental work on our projects. Recognizing the importance Bottom of inlet (west), shape distortion of the culvert barrel of the natural habitat in this area, York Region made it a contract D O M requirement for the general contractor to select an environmental

Keele Street • Travellers going west on Major Mackenzie Maple sub-contractor from the Region’s pre-qualified list. Community Centre Drive may detour on Keele Street north to N T R C Teston Road Teston Road then south on Jane Street to City of Vaughan Maple Library

Keele Street Major Mackenzie Drive Railway Street Drummond Drive • Travellers going east on Major Mackenzie ue Aven Killian Road ille lv Businesses e Drive may detour on Jane Street north to Businesses Civic Centre M OPEN Resource Library City of Vaughan Teston Road then south on Keele Street to OPEN McNaughton Road Major Mackenzie Drive

During Construction Keele Street Maple During Construction Community Centre Major Mackenzie Drive West Maple Library • “Open For Business” and “Entrance Open” Apple Tree Netherford Road Jane Street Railway Street Melville Avenue Montessori Killian Road signs will be installed

McNaughton Road

Civic Centre Resource Library Melville Avenue

Apple Tree Road closure Montessori Major Mackenzie Drive West Avro RoadSaint David’s Parish

Existing culvert Avro RoadSaint David’s Parish Jane Street

Netherford Road Road closure Existing culvert Detour route

C J MAJOR MACKENZIE DRIVE WEST Public Information Boards from McNaughton Road/Avro Road to 250 metres east of the intersection June 17 to August 30, 2019

York Region is replacing a culvert located on Major Mackenzie Drive West at McNaughton/Avro Road Businesses in the City of Vaughan. The culvert is a large steel OPEN pipe tunnel that transports water from the West During Construction Don River. A full closure of this section of road is required to ensure the work is completed as quickly, eciently and safely as possible.

Visit york.ca/majormackclosure for more details Please direct general inquiries to: York Region Transportation Services 1-877-464-9675 ext.75886

Postcard Before and After Renderings Oil-grit separator installation

12 Immediately south of the culvert is a Provincial wetland. Strict A new lookout platform was installed immediately south of the erosion and sediment control measures were implemented prior pedestrian culvert to allow trail users an opportunity to view the to and during construction to ensure the natural environment adjacent valley and wetland. This platform was off-set from sensitive was protected at all times. It was also recognized that the existing environmental features to ensure their protection. It also promotes storm sewer system did not have any storm runoff treatment prior community appreciation of the surrounding natural environment. to discharging into the West Don River. The project team took the opportunity to install a new oil grit separator to treat storm York Region employs a full-time Environmental Specialist and a runoff. This will result in cleaner water entering the West Don River full-time Environmental Inspector to ensure that contractors follow watershed. best practices and adhere to permit requirements. All construction activities were completed in accordance with environmental permits All work was completed in the dry. This was accomplished by installing received from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and a temporary channel diversion that permitted installation of the two Parks and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. precast culverts simultaneously. This construction approach allowed for acceleration of the culvert installations and ensured that the channel realignment work could be completed within the in-water works timing window.

River culvert Temporary Diversion

Temporary riverbed realignment

13 ACCOMPLISHMENTS UNDER ADVERSE Utilities CONDITIONS Due to the very compressed timelines associated with this emergency culvert replacement, it became necessary to find creative solutions for dealing with the most pressing utility conflicts. It was clear from Road closure the onset that an existing high voltage overhead hydro line would pose a major operational constraint in the contractor’s ability to As previously stated, the existing culvert was constructed in 1968 accelerate installation of the large precast culverts. and had severely deteriorated. Due to the deteriorated state of the culvert, height of the road embankment at the culvert location (8 Temporary relocation of the pole line was not feasible due to the metres of fill), lack of accessibility to the site and the environmental need for open cut construction. The Region worked closely with in-water timing restrictions, York Region decided to close the road the local hydro provider (Alectra) to completely eliminate aerial to all users during construction. hydro cables within our construction zone. This was accomplished by taking advantage of network redundancy in the grid and “dead- Given the importance of Major Mackenzie Drive to the overall traffic ending” the hydro service at both ends of the construction limits. network and to the local community, the decision to close the road Eliminating the aerial hydro lines removed a significant constraint placed an incredible amount of pressure on both the Region and the that would have undoubtedly complicated the construction and Contractor to deliver the work as quickly as possible and re-open the culvert installation sequence. After our work was completed, Alectra road. The Region’s communication strategy was critical in our ability returned to the site and reinstated the two poles that were in direct to manage public frustration and outcry during the closure. We conflict with our excavation. were able to build trust with the community by providing weekly construction updates, regular meetings with local business owners and weekly updates to elected officials

Hydro line termination

14 While the hydro conflict described above was known and the Region waste material, as authorized under Part V of the Environmental was able to find a solution to work around it, there were other Protection Act. utility conflicts that had to be managed on site. During excavation of the 8-metre embankment, the contractor encountered a 1 metre Due to the relatively small work zone, there was little room available by 1 metre concrete duct structure. This duct was not identified on site to stockpile the contaminated material. Stockpiled material in the utility locates and did not appear on any previous “as built” had to be moved quickly in order to continue with the excavations drawings. Work in the excavated area stopped temporarily while and stay on schedule. York Region quickly arranged for testing of the the project team contacted all utility companies to identify the suspect soil to confirm the chemical composition and nature of the owner. With the tight timelines, this issue had to be resolved contaminants. The tests concluded that the suspect soil exceeded quickly; however, there was some confusion as to who the structure Ontario Regulation 153/04 (amended) levels for Polycyclic Aromatic belonged to. Understanding the urgency, both Alectra and Bell sent Hydrocarbons (PAH) and Petroleum Hydrocarbons (PHC). their technicians to the site. Alectra promptly confirmed that it was an old abandoned hydro structure with no live wires and therefore, Approximately 580 truckloads of contaminated material had to be could be safely removed. The concrete duct was not identified as diverted to two licensed receiving sites, Green for Life (GFL) and part of the locates as it preceded any drawings on record. Through York Environmental. It was necessary to send the contaminated a lot of coordination between the Region, the contractor and the material to two sites because York Environmental only had 10 trucks utility providers, the issue was resolved quickly within a day and available to transport while GLF had 20. Only GLF was able to open construction continued. the receiving and only GFL was able to open the receiving facility after-hours to receive soil overnight (the Contractor was working on Another utility conflict encountered on site required extensive a 24-hour schedule). coordination with Enbridge Gas. Due to the lack of site accessibility prior to construction, it was not possible to accurately locate and expose the existing gas main on the south side of the road. While the gas main was situated far away from the proposed culvert work, a conflict was discovered between the gas main and the proposed grading for the new creek channel. The Region and our contractor worked closely with Enbridge to protect the gas main during construction and developed a solution that permitted the pipe to remain in place with reduced cover. This included installing a concrete matt over the existing gas main.

Contaminated soil

During excavation of the 8 metre high earth fill embankment, the Contractor uncovered a significant amount of contaminated soil. While the contract contained an allowance to deal with potential suspect soil, the vast volume of contaminated material on site was not anticipated. In total, approximately 5,800 cubic metres of contaminated material had to be disposed of at an approved and registered waste disposal site, capable of receiving hazardous and Contaminated material

15 The source of the contamination was not known; however, background research indicates that Maple Airport operated on the WHY THIS PROJECT IS IMPORTANT lands adjacent to the site between 1955 and 1987. It is possible that the contamination may be related to the old airport’s activities. An This project represents a big win for York Region. It provides a aerial photo depicting Maple Airport’s proximity to our culvert site glimpse of what can be accomplished in a very short duration when is shown below in Figure 1. there is political, corporate and agency support. In our case, public safety was the driving force that galvanized our collective efforts to close the road and deliver the project in such a short period of time. While the primary objective was to replace a severely deteriorated culvert that was at risk of failing catastrophically below the road surface, the opportunity presented itself to also include a pedestrian and cycling underpass that will benefit the surrounding community for generations to come.

This project is important because it included many “firsts” for York Region. For example, this was the first time that the Region pre- ordered precast concrete culverts in advance of the construction and directly from a supplier as opposed to going through a general contractor. The delivery of this project showcased the importance of inter-departmental collaboration between the various groups within the Region (Capital Planning and Delivery, Communications,

Figure X Procurement, Legal, Transit, Traffic, Operations), City of Vaughan partners, environmental agencies and various utility providers.

Figure 1 shows an aerial photo from 1970 showing Maple Airport, The project also highlights the importance of developing a close located just south of Major Mackenzie Drive. The West Don River working relationship with your general contractor. Through close culvert crossing Major Mackenzie Drive can be seen near the upper collaboration with Coco Paving Inc., the project team was able to right part of the image. respond to field challenges in real time and worked closely with Coco Paving Inc. to find solutions. The contractor’s level of commitment to the success of this project cannot be understated. Without their continuous dedication and willingness to work around the clock, this project could have easily turned into a public relations disaster. Their efforts were appreciated and noted by the Region, the public and elected officials.

16 Local Councillor Marilyn Iafrate announcing on social media the pending reopening of the road. CONCLUSION

While this project was relatively small in size ($2 to $10 million dollar category), it easily had the impact of a project many times its size. Rarely has the Region undertaken an emergency project that involved so many stakeholders, so many corporate “firsts” and generated so much political and public interest.

Measured against the selection criteria of construction management and schedule, construction safety, community relations, environmental protection and working under adverse conditions, this project was a complete success. There were many lessons to be learned, particularly about the importance of effective communication at all levels of project delivery from inception to construction. As a result of the success on this project, the Region is applying best practices from this project onto many of our larger capital projects.

This project is proof that even in emergency situations, there are marvelous infrastructure opportunities to be realized.

Completed culvert project

The Regional Municipality of York 17250 Yonge Street Newmarket, Ontario, Canada L3Y 6Z1

york.ca