February 26, 2010

GRAHAM BROS.

The $3.6 million contract for which Graham Bros. Construction Ltd. won the MTO’s Paver of the Year award covered an 8.4-kilometre stretch of road from King Street in Caledon.

FEATURE | Roadbuilding

Cutting time, maintaining quality wins Graham Bros. Paver of Year award

PETER KENTER

correspondent

Meeting stringent performance standards while finishing a provincial contract seven months ahead of schedule has landed Graham Bros. Construction Limited of Brampton the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) Paver of the Year award.

The company was honoured at the recent annual Ontario Road Builders’ Association convention in Toronto for its pavement rehabilitation work on Highway 10/Hurontario Street in the province’s Central Region, during which it shaved seven months off the 10-month project.

The $3.6 million contract covered an 8.4-kilometre stretch of road from King Street in Caledon, to just south of Forks of the Credit Road. The scope of the project included milling, paving, curb and gutter construction, drainage, shoulder grading, and installation of a steel beam guide rail and electrical detectors.

“The project was really a standout,” says Tony Tuinstra, a construction engineer with the Contract Management Office at MTO. “They had really good numbers for their pay factor and a bonus all the way through for their asphalt mix properties. Their smoothness numbers were absolutely excellent — they used an MTV [material-transfer vehicle] to eliminate any bumps due to stops and starts. We were also really impressed with their mat uniformity and their joint construction.”

The project route was subject to heavy commuter traffic flowing southbound during the morning and northbound in the early afternoon and evening. Fridays added typical cottage country congestion. Graham Bros. staggered its northbound and southbound lane closures to maximize traffic flows throughout the day.

Tuinstra says that the company also did an excellent job of co-ordinating its laydown operation with its plant operation.

“The heavy traffic made for logistical issues during material delivery to and from the site,” says Chris Ledsham, quality control manager with Graham Bros. “At one point, three of the five possible lanes were open to traffic at once, leaving us with a limited work zone. To achieve a smooth ride on the finished asphalt it was essential to keep the equipment moving at a steady pace, so we worked to minimize material delivery delays that could ultimately result in a rough ride.”

Construction began on August 26 and continued through the fall, concluding on November 20, 2009 — seven months ahead of a scheduled June 30, 2010 completion date.

“The intention was to get the base and some parts of the top down by October, then we were supposed to come back in June to finish the job,” says Alfredo Maggio, president of Graham Bros.

“The job was tendered late in the year, but our intention was to get it done all in that year. We had to get it started as quickly as possible to take advantage of the weather. Once the fall weather set in with the rain and cold, getting a good job done would be difficult. We contacted the ministry and the consultants right from the start to co-ordinate the project for an early completion. We dedicated a lot of resources to get out of the gate early, both in the grinding and paving portion.”

The contractor also increased production and reduced downtime by equipping its milling equipment with a 12-foot wide milling head. “The regular is about eight feet,” says Maggio.

“With the large cutting head we could mill an entire lane at one time and this allowed us to stay one step ahead of the pavers. We’d invested in the equipment earlier that year and switching over the head was a two-day operation. This was the first ministry job we had a chance to use it on.”

The contractor also used an automatic control system to permit the surface paving to achieve a favourable smoothness.

Maggio credits the strong co-operation and communication between the owner, owner’s representative and the contractor for creating a strong sense of teamwork for a successful project.

“I have to stress that jobs like this are only possible when the consultants and the owner work together with the contractor,” says Maggio. “ If the owner wants to administer the contract exactly as written you can’t get this kind of synergy. This is the perfect testament to that kind of co-operation.

“Of course it doesn’t hurt to have one of the best paving partners in the province working for you.”

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