Water supply tunnel construction management contract awarded
Credit to Author: Jennifer Saltman| Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2019 20:56:54 +0000
Metro Vancouver has awarded a $12.8-million construction management contract for a drinking water tunnel project that is worth $450 million and will take five years to complete.
Construction on the new Annacis water supply tunnel between New Westminster and Surrey is slated to begin next year.
It will be excavated deep underground using a tunnel-boring machine that will be launched from a vertical shaft on the Surrey side and will bore under the Fraser River to a vertical exit shaft on the New Westminster side.
The tunnel will be 4.5 metres in diameter and 2.3 kilometres long between shafts and have a 2.6-metre-diameter steel water main inside. It will increase water supply capacity, be more resistant to earthquakes, and protect against river scour and other marine activities.
The project is in the detailed design stage, which is expected to wrap up at the end of this year.
The construction management services contract was awarded to McMillen Jacobs Associates. Stantec Consulting, SNC-Lavalin and CDM Smith Canada also submitted proposals.
At a board meeting on Friday, Metro director Kim Richter, a Langley Township councillor, questioned why staff had recommended a proposal that, while not the highest bid, was $1 million higher than the low bid.
When evaluating proposals, Metro Vancouver staff look at both the technical and financial aspects, award points, and come to a consensus on which bid to choose.
“In this case, the firm that was cheapest did not have the same credentials that the firm that we’re proposing,” said Frank Huber, director of major projects, managements systems and utility services for Metro Vancouver water services.
“In a project like this — a tunnelling project, very risky business — you want to make sure that you actually get the right team, the people with the right experience, and the right skill set.”
Huber said that while the cost difference is a fraction of the total project value of $450 million, staff recognize that it is still a lot of money.
“But, I think it will serve us well having a good team like this to basically avoid problems developing later on and costing us more money,” he said.
The Annacis water supply tunnel one of five water tunnels Metro is building to replace existing mains. The Port Mann tunnel is already in service, the Second Narrows tunnel is under construction, and the Cambie-Richmond and Haney water supply tunnels are in the works.