Image: Environmental permitting and construction management planning

Industrial & Infrastructure1 min read

Environmental permitting and construction management planning

Location
Richmond, British Columbia
Client
BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Timeframe
2021-22

The Challenge

The Steveston-Highway 99 Interchange is critical infrastructure element on the major west coast Canada - USA highway. It also provides access to the west coast's second biggest container terminal at Deltaport.

The interchange, and the highway it serves, are critical to trans-continental and trans-Pacific movements of goods and people and to the community who use the interchange for local travel and access to public transit.

The Better Way

Our Sustainability team completed several scopes of work for the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to permit the project and get it closer to construction, including:

  • fisheries, water sustainability and agriculture permitting
  • strategic environmental assessment advice, particularly in relation to new provincial impact assessment guidelines
  • responses to and inclusion of regulatory / Indigenous nations engagement information and feedback
  • compilation of an environmental management plan for construction that was compliant with new provincial expectations
  • environmental support to optimize the design, e.g., reduced watercourse impacts and optimized design for simplified utility planning
  • procurement support as owner’s environmental representative

The outcome

The current two-lane Steveston-Highway 99 Interchange will be replaced with a new five-lane structure with two eastbound lanes and three westbound lanes, improving access to regional and local transit stops, and separated bicycle lanes.

Upgrades to the interchange have been advanced ahead of the adjacent Fraser River Crossing project which will replace the aging George Massey Tunnel with a new immersed tube tunnel. Collectively the two projects will provide integrated improvements that will improve travel time, reliability and safety for all modes of local and regional road and highway transportation.