Lafarge Canada Awarded for Outstanding Contribution to BC Transportation

The organization has been acknowledged as part of the BC Transportation Contractor of the Year Awards of Excellence

Each year, the Province celebrates organizations that have made outstanding contributions to British Columbia’s transportation system. This year, due to the pandemic, the Ministry presented awards for both 2020 and 2021, with Lafarge Canada Inc. nominated four times for Contractor of the Year for the two-year period.

“We’re thrilled with these nominations and the recognition it gives to our teams across the province,” shares Lincoln Kyne, Vice President & General Manager, BC. “The Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure builds infrastructure that needs to last decades and our commitment as a contractor is to deliver high quality value projects for our Province. These awards reflect that commitment.”

Reflecting the organization’s desire to put health and safety at the forefront of all operations, Lafarge was the 2020 Workplace Health and Safety Award Winner. “The perimeter lighting was a game changer,” shares Kyne. “Now it doesn’t matter where our teams are working, or what the weather conditions are - they’re safe, continually.” Lafarge won for their perimeter lighting system, which provides a distinctive red line of light, 10 feet around asphalt paving rollers to create an operator-only safe workspace. As well, Lafarge’s new personal hard hat lighting system for asphalt paving technicians was acknowledged in the award.

Lafarge was also a winner in the 2021 Grading category for the Lower Lynn Creek Connectivity Project. “The site is incredibly busy,” says Kyne. “There are more than 120,000 vehicles passing through every day. It took a lot for us to not only coordinate construction phases, but to make sure that everyone involved stayed safe, that highly sensitive environmental considerations were managed and risks mitigated, and that we stuck to the schedule with the least amount of disruption for the community.”

Lafarge Canada was also nominated as the 2020 Runner Up for the massive Mountain Highway Interchange Project and the 2021 Runner Up for asphalt resurfacing at Hwy 97 Vernon Arterial and Old Kamloops Road. Both projects involved complex traffic rerouting and stakeholder engagement strategies, and were completed on schedule. “We work across the Province,” explains Kyne. “We are familiar with the challenges that come with these projects and specifically in the communities they impact. We are fully committed to helping the industry keep improving and innovating.”

The awards were presented to Lafarge Canada at MoTI’s awards ceremony on December 3, 2021. “It’s an honor to accept these awards,” says Kyne, “and it’s a great push for us to keep on being the best we can be.”

About the B.C. Transportation Contractor of the Year Awards of Excellence

2020 Workplace Health and Safety – 2020 – WINNER

Lafarge GVA Construction - James Silver, Mark O’Callaghan, Shaun Marsden, Mike Darby

Lafarge Canada Inc. introduced the red perimeter lighting system and ILLUMAGEAR Halo SL, which increases the visibility of both ground personnel and equipment. The red perimeter lighting system provides a distinctive red line of light, 10 feet around asphalt paving rollers to creating an operator-only safe workspace. The red light provides other ground personnel and members of the public with early indication that they are in an unsafe position. The lights are mounted on the equipment, which allows the illuminated workspace to move with the equipment. Lafarge Canada Inc. also mandated use of the ILLUMAGEAR Halo SL, a personal hard hat lighting system for asphalt paving on-site quality control technicians. This system provides a 360-degree ring of light that attaches to hardhats, is visible for up to 400 metres away and provides supplementary task lighting to the user.

Grading – 2020 – Runner Up

Lafarge GVA Infrastructure - Project Manager – Gord Bird

Mountain Highway Interchange Project – This $36M project included removing and replacing the existing two lane underpass to a five lane underpass. The improvements included new on and off ramps to Highway 1, two soil nail walls (up to 12m high), three cast in place concrete retaining walls, pedestrian tunnel, capacity improvements to Keith Road and Mountain Highway, pedestrian and cyclist improvements through the construction of multi-use pathways, as well as major drainage and utility upgrades and environmental enhancements. Lafarge introduced several sustainable options including the use of Aggneo on one of the first major highway infrastructure projects in the province.

Grading – 2021 – WINNER

Lafarge GVA Infrastructure - Project Manager – Paulo Perez

Lower Lynn Creek Connectivity Project - This $64M project included the reconstruction of the existing Highway 1 at Keith Road Interchange and new westbound collector lanes. Construction included a new five-lane Keith Road underpass, realignment of Keith Road, reconstruction of ramps, reconstruction of the Lillooet/Seymour Parkway intersection, two new Highway 1 westbound collector lanes, two new Highway 1 Lynn Creek Bridges, new Mountain Highway eastbound on-ramp and the relocation of Keith Creek. Over 120,000 vehicles passed through the site each day. There were extensive utility relocations and upgrades, complex construction staging and traffic management and nearby sensitive environmental habitat, all within a densely populated and constrained area. Lafarge worked with stakeholders to address challenges that arose on this complex project through innovation and collaboration.

Paving – 2021 – Runner Up

Vernon Paving (a division of Lafarge Canada Inc.) – Jody Bridge, Scott Horsfield

Asphalt Surfacing Hwy 97 Vernon Arterial and Old Kamloops Road – The $4M project consisted of a section of Highway 97 from north of 43rd Avenue to College Way and approximately six kilometers along Old Kamloops Road was assessed as requiring resurfacing and road repairs. The project also included the construction of approximately 185 meters of right-turn lane on Highway 97 onto 43rd Avenue and median extension at 37th Avenue. The road repairs and resurfacing resulted in a smoother riding surface and improved dust control. This project improved safety and efficiency of the roadway and increased corridor capacity, mobility and reliability. Vernon Paving (Lafarge) took a proactive approach to protect the environment and effectively addressed environmental concerns that arose.

About Lafarge Canada Inc.

Lafarge is Canada’s largest provider of sustainable construction materials and a member of the global group, Holcim. With 6,000 employees and 350 sites across Canada, our mission is to provide construction solutions that build better cities and communities. The cities where Canadians live, work and raise their families along with the community’s infrastructure benefit from the solutions provided by Lafarge consisting of aggregates, asphalt and paving, cement, precast concrete, ready-mix concrete, and road construction. www.lafarge.ca

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Lafarge Canada acknowledged as part of the BC Transportation Contractor of the Year Awards of Excellence for outstanding safety and grading works. #collaboration #sustainabledevelopment #buildersofprogress