BergerWorld: 3rd Quarter 2004

Klohn Crippen has over 50 years of experience in highway design and construction. During the 1990s, the firm's major projects included the design of portions of the 130-kilometer Vancouver Island Highway, feasibility studies for upgrades to the Sea-to-Sky Highway, the construction supervision for the Tianjin Super Highway in China and construction management of El Melon Highway Tunnel in Chile. Klohn Crippen is currently expanding its transportation and highway design involvement, participating in a number of traditional engineering designs, as well as innovative design/build projects, including upgrades to the Trans-Canada Highway, Highway 7 and Highway 20 in British Columbia.

The Trans-Canada Highway, considered Canada's "Main Street," is the world's longest highway, spanning more than 5,000 miles between St. John's, Newfoundland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Under a $10 million British Columbian Ministry of Transportation (MOT) program, Emil Anderson Construction and Klohn Crippen were selected for the design/build replacement of the Vedder Road Interchange which links the Trans-Canada Highway with the cities of Chilliwack and Sardis.

The Team replaced the existing two-lane bridge with a modern five-lane, 50 meter two-span structure and constructed a new signalized diamond interchange on the south side of the bridge and a loop ramp intersection on the north side. The new interchange was constructed in stages to maintain crucial links with nearby cities and allow traffic to use the bridge during construction. Because the Vancouver area lies in an active earthquake zone, Klohn Crippen also conducted extensive geotechnical tests and prepared designs to secure the bridge in the event of a natural disaster. As a result of this effort, Klohn Crippen was recognized for their outstanding work with an Award of Excellence from the Consulting Engineers of British Colombia.

In addition to this major interchange, Klohn Crippen has recently been involved in several rural highway design assignments in British Columbia, including the upgrade of Highway 7 outside Vancouver, Highway 20 in central British Columbia and Highway 4 on Vancouver Island. Highway 7 cuts through the heart of the picturesque Fraser River Valley, linking a number of farming towns with Vancouver. As part of an effort to upgrade this route, Klohn Crippen, in association with R.F. Binnie Associates, was selected to conduct geoenvironmetal studies; widen the highway and improve the alignment; and upgrade drainage systems and retaining walls for the link between Mission and Maple Ridge. This portion of Canada receives a significant amount of rain, and the Team conducted ground water assessments to determine the most effective drainage design. Following the field studies, the Team developed detailed designs for widening the highway to two travel lanes in each direction, taking into account numerous intersections and driveways along the route. Klohn Crippen also designed a length of causeway between the Fraser River and nearby Silvermere Lake.

As part of the successful design/build team, Klohn Crippen conducted geotechnical studies, then designed upgrades for a section of Highway 20 between Bella Coola and Anaheim, providing a link to the spectacular 2.2 million acre Tweedsmuir Park. To reduce the costs of earthworks, the Team developed innovative designs to reduce the haul distances. As a result of the successful implementation of this design/ build project, Klohn Crippen was retained by the MOT to develop a manual on the management of design/build projects.