The Highway 99 Tunnel Project, the crossing slated to replace the George Massey Tunnel, is being brought back to market in a different shape. Rather than a single large contract awarded to one international consortium, the Province is dividing the remaining work into a series of smaller packages, and has been clear that it wants more local and Canadian firms taking part. It is the same approach used on the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain and the Fraser Valley Highway 1 program.
For contractors and subconsultants, that changes the arithmetic. The immersed-tube tunnelling remains specialized work, but the bridge, the approaches, the roadworks, and the utilities are scopes that mid-size and local firms can realistically pursue, on their own or in partnership. The firms that do well in packaged procurements tend to be the ones that prepared before the first request for qualifications, with their team, their track record, and their technical approach already in order.
That preparation is often where a design partner matters. A strong qualifications submission and a competitive bid rest on a credible technical approach, and on scopes like these, geotechnical, structural, civil, and hydrotechnical judgment is frequently the difference between a package that prices well and one that carries hidden risk. Bringing that thinking in early, while the pursuit is still taking shape, tends to be more useful than adding it once the bid is already being priced.
For First Nations, a restructuring of this scale raises a different and equally important set of questions. When a major project is rebuilt into new packages, the way participation, equity, and stewardship of the Fraser are handled is being worked out as part of that process. Engaging while the packaging is still being shaped is more effective than responding to it after the fact. For Nations considering how to take part, whether through consultation, through partnership, or through their own construction and services companies, the value lies in having experienced technical and advisory support that works to the Nation’s own priorities.
PRI works across both of these needs. We support contractors and subconsultants as a design partner on pursuits like these, and we support First Nations on consultation and on building the capacity of their own firms to take on the work. If the Massey retender, or the wider shift toward packaged infrastructure procurement, is something you are weighing how to approach, we would be glad to talk it through.
Contact Our Team.
We would love to hear more about you and the project that you have in mind.
Jesse Unke, P.ENG., PE, PMP, RMP, CMC
Vice President, Transportation & Infrastructure
jesse.unke@priengineering.com