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Roadbuilding
October 14, 2008
Vanbots drives ahead at UOIT Automotive Centre of Excellence
Works begins to take shape for the new Automotive Centre of Excellence at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in Oshawa, Ont.
October 14, 2008
McGillivray brings ‘pipe bursting’ technology to Ontario
McGillivray & Sons Contractors Ltd. of Kitchener is the first company in Ontario to employ “pipe bursting” technology to replacing existing sewer, watermain or gas lines without digging up the entire length of the replaced pipe section.
October 10, 2008
Oklahoma Transportation Commission approves $4-billion infrastructure improvement program
The Oklahoma Transportation Commission approved a $4 billion program this week to improve roads, replace 449 deficient bridges and finish relocating downtown’s busy, trouble-prone Crosstown Expressway.
October 9, 2008
Massive ‘medical city’ being built in Shanghai
Toronto-based Perkins Eastman Black Architects has master planned what is being billed as the biggest, “greenest” medical centre in the world: a vast, single, contiguous district devoted to health and wellness.
October 8, 2008
Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating signs memorandum of understanding with Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada
The Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH) and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC) have signed a memorandum of understanding that paves the way for increased exchange of information on items of common concern.
October 6, 2008
PCR Contractors expands University of Windsor Human Kinetics Building
Work moves along on the expansion of the University of Windsor Human Kinetics Building.
October 6, 2008
Two workers injured in separate accidents on Ontario’s Skyway Bridge
The Garden City Skyway bridge in St. Catharine’s, Ontario was the site of two work accidents six days apart. The Ontario labour ministry is investigating both incidents.
October 3, 2008
Anthony Henday Drive ring road garners Canadian Design-Build Institute award
The Canadian Design-Build Institute (CDBI) will present its annual Design-Build Award of Excellence for a transportation project in Edmonton, the first of its type to win the award.
October 3, 2008
Firms reach settlement with family of Big Dig casualty
The family of a woman killed when a Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapsed has settled a wrongful death lawsuit for more than US$28 million, lawyers told The Associated Press.
October 3, 2008
Cancelled Vancouver Olympic projects leave some communities frustrated
How the tale of the two cities hosting the 2010 Olympics will end is anyone’s guess, with many predicting the legacy will be a mix of the best and worst of times.
October 1, 2008
New England and eastern Canada consider collaboration on power projects
With fuel prices soaring, energy was the hot topic at a recent meeting of governors from energy-hungry New England states and leaders in eastern Canada, where there’s a surplus of energy.
October 1, 2008
Wage dispute prompts Golden Ears bridge project workers to walk off the job
A group of temporary foreign workers from Serbia walked off the job at the Golden Ears bridge construction project, after not being paid by a European sub-contractor.
October 1, 2008
British Columbia puts up $10 million for assessment of Highway 37 power line
At the same time as a report was released last week that said building a power line in northwest B.C. could spark mining development and create thousands of jobs, Premier Gordon Campbell said the province was taking the first step in bringing power along the Highway 37 corridor.
October 1, 2008
Subsurface Utility Engineering boosts efficiency, roads seminar hears
Innovative construction practices and techniques on highway and streets projects can minimize costs, traffic congestions and reduce friction with the travelling public or adjacent property owners, participants at the recent Transportation Association of Canada annual conference and exhibition were told.
October 1, 2008
Crews work to stabilize Sea-to-Sky route after rock slide
A rock slide that blocked the Sea-to-Sky Highway between Whistler and Vancouver for several days has led to a rock stabilization project along the route.
September 30, 2008
McKay-Cocker Construction makes concrete progress on Hanwha plant
McKay-Cocker Construction Ltd. began design-build work on the Hanwha building in April 2008 for owner Hanwha L & C Canada Inc. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2008.
September 30, 2008
Metrolinx outlines regional transportation priorities
The backbone of Metrolinx’s regional transportation improvement plan is the MoveOntario 2020 $11.5 billion commitment from the province, coupled with previously announced project funding announcements.
September 30, 2008
Atom collider facility faces two-month repair
The world’s largest atom smasher — which was launched with great fanfare earlier this month — has been damaged twice and will be out of commission for at least two months, the facility’s operator, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, says.
September 30, 2008
Asphalt recycling breaks new ground, expert says
From experiments exploring the possibility of using asphalt shingles for highway construction to full-depth asphalt reclamation, the construction industry and its academic and consulting engineering partners are breaking ground in the recycling of old materials for new projects.
September 29, 2008
Aecon wins $19-million contract for Huntsville-area stretch of Highway 11
Aecon Group Inc. has been awarded a $19.1-million contract by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to reconstruct a five-kilometre stretch of Highway 11 near Huntsville, Ont.
September 26, 2008
EnCana and partner to expand Illinois refinery
EnCana Corp. and partner ConocoPhillips are starting construction this month on a US$3.6 billion expansion at their joint venture Wood River refinery in Roxana, Ill.
September 26, 2008
Asphalt energy is heating up
We’ve all seen bad old movies in which an obscure scientist, labouring by himself to develop an idea, suddenly sees it unfold before him with astonishing clarity.
September 25, 2008
Thirty-day limit to bid-approvals process draws support from CCA members
The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) needs to look at getting owners to use bid approval processes of no longer than 30 days, say some of its members.
September 25, 2008
Roche NCE study recommends site for proposed Ottawa-Gatineau bridge
A preferred site has been chosen for a new bridge over the Ottawa River connecting the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau.
September 24, 2008
Nouvelle Autoroute 30, S.E.N.C. signs 35-year partnership agreement
The Governments of Canada and Quebec have signed a 35-year partnership agreement with Nouvelle Autoroute 30, S.E.N.C. for the design, construction, financing, operation, maintenance and repair of Highway 30.
September 24, 2008
Energy Quest joins energy-from-waste venture in Romania
Energy Quest Inc., a Canadian company, is entering into a joint-venture agreement with COFAMM of Romentino, Italy to construct a 20 MW power gasification plant in Romania.
September 24, 2008
Scoudouc sewer project begins
Construction has begun on an extended sanitary sewer line and expanded lagoon for Scoudouc, New Brunswick residents.
September 22, 2008
Wal-Mart transforms urban Vancouver building into newest retail location
The Grandview Highway Wal-Mart in Vancouver is scheduled to open in 2009 and will be the first store that the company has not owned, but renovated, in Canada.
September 22, 2008
OGCA urges Infrastructure Ontario to “meet its full mandate”
Infrastructure Ontario needs to expand its expand its horizons and undertake projects outside of the healthcare sphere, says Ontario General Contractors Association president (OGCA) Clive Thurston.
September 19, 2008
Korky Koroluk: Study shows Canada’s infrastructure needs $200 billion in investment
The present federal election campaign was only two days old when I saw statements from construction industry groups emphasizing the importance of more money for infrastructure repair, replacement and expansion.
September 19, 2008
North Edmonton ring road rolls on
Excavation work is well under way on the North Edmonton Ring Road.
September 19, 2008
Aquatech crews perform ‘bypass operation’
A crew from Aquatech unload pipe to be used in a sanitary sewer line bypass at Highway 7 and the Rouge River.
September 18, 2008
Ottawa’s transit plan runs into roadblock
Since the National Capital Commission already allows Ottawa city buses to travel on the Ottawa River Parkway, it was assumed by many that it would also allow a rail line to be built along the same corridor. But the NCC has demurred, saying that trains are more intrusive than buses.
September 17, 2008
Passivhaus technology offers evidence of Europe’s green revolution
They may be passive, but buildings built to rigorous Passivhaus standards for low energy use in Germany, Austria and elsewhere across Europe are anything but passive when it comes to having a small carbon footprint.
September 16, 2008
Highway Bridge Program ignores largest, most deficient structures, report finds
Many of the largest and most seriously deficient bridges in the U.S. aren’t getting fixed because a federal program funding bridge repairs is unfocused and lacks sufficient standards, congressional investigators say.
September 15, 2008
Inquest scheduled in roofer’s death in Innisfil, Ontario
The Regional Supervising Coroner for Central Region, Guelph Office, has announced that an inquest will be held into the death of roofer Michael Suto in 2006.
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| CURRENT STORIES |
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| ALEX’S BLOG |

Reed Construction Data Chief Economist Alex Carrick discusses current developments in Canada's economic environment. He also shares light-hearted reflections on life and current events.
Economics Blog More 
- Why are the Conservatives and Stephen Harper taking it on the Chin? (October 10, 2008)
- Standing up in a Convertible while Driving under a Bridge (October 9, 2008)
- Phrase of the Day: Libor (October 8, 2008)
Lifestyle Blog More 
- Three Cities with a Lot in Common: Calgary, Edmonton and Venice (September 29, 2008)
- How to Get Ahead in this Life (September 25, 2008)
| PROJECT NEWS BRIEFS |
Updates on Canadian construction projects from Reed Construction Data’s research team. More 
- Viljoen Architects readies working drawings for Stonebridge by the Bay (Sep 15, 2008)
- REC Silicon plans $1.2-billion manufacturing plant in Quebec (Sep 15, 2008)
- Construction underway at Interfor’s Adams Lake sawmill (Sep 11, 2008)
- Alcan moves closer to construction of Kitimat aluminum smelter (Sep 11, 2008)
- Town of Oliver presses on with plans for wine village (Sep 11, 2008)


