Vancouver racing to meet 2010 deadline

Pacific Northwest contractors ready for $6 billion in construction

Not only is the area preparing to build Olympic venues, infrastructure improvements and private construction are adding to the total. Business is fantastic, but most contractors expect labor shortages.

By Lucy Bodilly

Like world-class athletes preparing for a once in a lifetime competition, the AEC community in the Pacific Northwest is pacing itself for the arrival of the 2010 Winter Olympics to be held in Vancouver B.C.

Vancouver officials have set a grueling pace themselves, stating that all venue construction will be completed enough ahead of time to allow for complete testing and commissioning before the Games start.

The region is already ahead of most communities that vow to host the competition. With a population of over 2 million, sites such as B.C. Place and Pacific Coliseum are already built that can easily host the opening ceremonies and some events. Much of the skiing will be held at Whistler, just a short drive from downtown Vancouver. That brings the estimate for venue and Olympics construction to $600 million. The amount tells only a fraction of the whole story. Infrastructure improvements necessary for a successful Games and ancillary project construction bring the estimated total construction due in the Vancouver area closer to $6 billion in the next six years. Construction dollars private companies spend to take advantage of the event is an unknown.

The Vancouver Regional Construction Association, a trade group similar to the Associated General Contractors in the United States, has already held one meeting to welcome U.S. companies interested in winning Olympics related contracts.

American companies are welcome to bid on any part of construction or supplies "from bed sheets to buildings," according to the official web site B.C. Bid. Currently that's the location for all government bids in the province. By November, officials will decide if an "Olympics only" site is necessary. The first construction related project to go up on the site was for the design of the Nordic venue. It was awarded in September to Canadian architect whoever.

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Local architect LMN, Seattle, is currently designing another key component of the Olympics, an addition to the Vancouver Convention Centre. Located along Coal Harbor, the addition more than doubles the size of the current facility, bringing it from 133,000 to515, 000-sq.-ft. The total price, including a $20 million upgrade to the existing space is estimated at $535,000 million. Construction will be completed in July of 2008.

Several infrastructure projects that will ensure effective travel for visitors and athletes from the airport to their temporary residence to venues are under way now.

The airport is the midst of a 10-year $1.4 billion capital improvement process to be completed in time for the Olympics. This summer contractors worked on a 500-ft long runway expansion and complete overlay replacement project that will allow planes as big as a Boeing E47 to land and a fully loaded Boeing 747 to take-off, depending on weather conditions.

The new pavement consists of a 15-in. layer of lean concrete and topped with a 15-in. layer of asphalt, according to Don Ehrenholz, director of engineering projects at the Vancouver airport. A new lighting and light towers brought the contract price to $40 million. Vancouver has a penchant for environmental issues, and the contractors at the airport were no exception. For the repaving portion, the original surface was remilled and part of it was used to build the extension.

The driving force for the contractors was the time frame for construction. They were allowed access to the runway only between 7:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. During the day the runway had to be open for traffic. That required the contractor to complete the paving with enough time to clear the runway and allow curing time, before planes would be landing the next morning. To achieve this goal, Ehrenholz hired several paving companies and required standby equipment to be available in case of a breakdown. "We achieved our goal by completing about 200-sq.ft. of paving a night," he said. The contract required six major electrical contractors and two paving contractors with dozens of smaller companies also involved. "We were allowed more capacity if we used more companies," Ehrenholz explained.

Other projects planned at the airport include terminal expansions at the international and domestic terminals, baggage system upgrades, and information and technology improvements. The $1.6 billion cost includes a $300 million contribution to improvements to the rapid transit system.

Ground transportation improvements are in the works as well. The largest, and touted as the most difficult road project in North America is the Sea-to-Sky highway improvement project. A public private venture, the design/build/maintain contract is for $600 million and calls for a 20-year maintenance period, according to an article in Construction Business. Bids are still being evaluated for the contract and will be let in March 2005.

Peter Kiewit Sons' Co., Vancouver is already working on the initial phase of the project.

"It has been a fairly challenging project with lots of heavy traffic," said Al Knight the Ledcor project manager.
Even without the Olympics, Vancouver B.C. would be a contractor's and design firm's haven. Work at the University of British Columbia, handled under the auspices of UBC Properties Trust, is reaching the $500 million mark.

A pet project of the provincial prime minister is the UBC life sciences building which will total 560,000-sq.-ft. when completed next year. The $100 million building will hold labs and classrooms and is being built specifically to train 200 more doctors per year. Normally a building of this size would take five years to plan and construct, but the design team is completing the work in just over two years in order to ease the shortage of doctors in the province.

Designed by Buntin Coady and Diamond Schmitt, Vancouver, the building is going after LEED status, teetering between the silver and gold designation. All UBC buildings must earn a LEED designation, as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council. Site recycling and an energy efficient mechanical system will all go toward the necessary points, said Murray McKinnon, project manager for Ledcor.

With the exception of the main laboratory areas, Life Cycle Costing Analysis was carried out to determine the optimum capital cost/energy cost equipment selections for the various use and occupancies throughout the Life Sciences Centre.

For the mechanical and electrical systems, MCW, the mechanical engineer, has incorporated advanced heat recovery systems to both air and water systems, variable volume air handling systems, a sophisticated BMS for energy monitoring and systems' control, energy efficient lighting technologies, water conserving plumbing systems, and much more.

Value engineering on the mechanical and electrical systems resulted in over $3 million dollars in savings to the project.

Also planned is a myriad of highrise housing projects in the downtown core, with an estimated value of 16 billion, according to VRCA figures.