A-25 Bridge and Highway

To improve public transportation between Montreal and the North Shore as well as provide an alternate route for freight transportation, the Quebec Ministry of Transportation awarded the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the A-25 to the Concession A25 S.E.C. (Concession A25) Consortium. For the extension of A-25, Kiewit is partnering with Parsons to design and build Quebec's first public-private partnership (PPP) project in the transportation market.

The purpose of this PPP driven project is to ensure a rapid road-transport alternative"”a new service that will benefit users, communities, investors and partners"”while complying with the most current sustainable-development standards which call for balanced economic, environmental and social aspects.

The scope of work involves constructing 7.2 kilometers of a new four-lane highway between Henri-Bourassa Boulevard in Montreal and Highway 440 in Laval and a six-lane cable-stayed bridge that crosses the Riviere des Prairies. In addition, the crews will construct a pedestrian path and a reserved public transit lane.

As one of the first construction companies in Quebec to receive an ISO 14001 certification, Kiewit's priority has been to adhere to all environmental management standard guidelines throughout the project. Expected to be completed by 2011, the project will achieve greater sustainability in Canada's transportation system. To protect and improve the environment, Kiewit agreed to meet the owners' requirements. Some of these included a moratorium on work in the river during fish breeding season (April 1 to August 1); limitations on permanent and temporary loss of fish habitats; compensation for residual losses and duration of temporary losses; and protection of downstream islands by maintaining identical water levels and minimizing sediment on the shorelines.

In Montreal, to manage discharge from the highway during use, the team constructed a stilling pond to collect the highway run-off in combination with a stormceptor system that collects sediment, oil and grease. Retention ponds will be created in Laval and also combined with the stormceptor system. These ponds will improve the quality of water discharged. Discharge will be monitored to validate the proper operation of the system.

In order to reuse as much excavated soil as possible, the team developed dunes in Montreal and Laval. Kiewit worked with the cities to reuse materials as much as possible in order to minimize the environmental impact of waste from the project. The team was responsible for protecting existing wetlands. The largest expanse of wetlands was preserved and protected throughout the work by imposing a minimum 15-meter protected area, except where the structure ran overhead. Most of the equipment used in the water or near sensitive environments use biodegradable hydraulic oil.