Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon signed what he calls a "value added" contract to improve the Sea to Sky Highway last week.
At a media event to announce a final agreement between the Ministry of Transportation (MOT) and S2S Transportation Group last Thursday (June 9), Falcon announced that because of the unique approach taken by the government, motorists will get a highway that is safer, more reliable and can carry greater volumes of traffic than they would have using a more conventional approach.
"The Sea to Sky Highway Improvement Project is moving forward on time and on budget," Falcon said. "That's great news for taxpayers, but it's the motoring public who are the big winners. This agreement provides added value in the form of additional safety and capacity improvements beyond what we had expected."
S2S, a consortium of companies headed up by construction firm Peter Kiewit Sons Co., was announced as the successful bidder for the $400 million contract in March.
The contract includes a 25-year commitment for highway maintenance, which is to be turned back to Capilano Highway Services Co. -which lost the contract to Mainroad Howe Sound Contracting two years ago - as part of the winning bid team.
In a statement,, MOT officials touted the fact that Hwy. 99 between Horseshoe Bay and Whistler will have 20 kilometres more passing lanes, 80 per cent more median barrier, 68 per cent more shoulder and centre-line rumble strips and more reflective pavement markings than the initial call for proposals had sought.
Falcon credited the "added-value" features to the government's approach of putting the entire project out to the private sector and judging the proposals on how well they met the overall aims.
"We set out the standards that we wanted to see and said, 'Here's the dollars that we have - $600 million - for the entire project," Falcon said.
"The first bit of the work was to be done by the Province. For the balance, $400 million, we said to the marketplace, 'With these dollars, you come to us and tell us what you can do in terms of balancing the safety aspects of the project, the traffic delays, the engineering aspects and come in on or under budget.' And they exceeded our expectations.
"This is where the innovative aspect of the private sector comes into play. We were blown away that they not only met but exceeded every standard that we set."
Said Joan McIntyre, the new MLA for West Vancouver-Garibaldi, "The upgraded highway will be safer and more reliable for everyone who uses it and will stimulate economic activity for the region."
The contract is "performance-based," including financial incentives for the contractors to meet the project's objectives, ensure that road delays are as infrequent and predictable as possible, and ensure that the entire project is completed on time - that is, by the fall of 2009, in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
What's more, Falcon said, "All the risk of construction overruns gets transferred to the private sector."Falcon cited two examples of how the more conventional approach under NDP governments failed British Columbians - the Coquihalla Highway, which was $1 billion over budget, and the (Vancouver) Island Highway, where he said corners were cut to ensure that the project came in on budget.
For the current project, Falcon said, "My confidence level is so high that I want history to record that this project will be on time and on budget."
While all of the recent work on the highway has been between 樱桃视频and Horseshoe Bay, Falcon said he expects work on the Squamish-to-Whistler section - which is to include at least three lanes along its entire length when complete - to ramp up almost immediately.
Engineering and geotechnical work will take place first, and construction activity north of 樱桃视频is to resume in July, he said.
