COMMENT
Building back while looking forward
Get the latest construction news! Follow us on Twitter @OnSiteMag
As we approached press time for this edition of On-Site, floods hit in both the east and west, damaging critical infrastructure and impacting the ability to get people and goods to some communities. Provinces face the task of repairing and replacing impacted transportation infrastructure. In B.C., the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has already started soliciting companies for their assistance in repairing the damaged highways and other roadways. Just recently, the province sent out a request for qualifications to construction and engineering firms for the repair of two of the province’s most damaged roads: Highway 8 and Highway 1 (also known as the Trans-Canada Highway, Canada’s coast-to-coast highway system). While there will certainly be contracting firms ready to step up and assist the province and its residents in the repairs and replacements needed to get transportation infrastructure back up and running, there are additional factors in play this year that may prevent projects from being completed as quickly as the provinces, and their residents, would like. The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the global economy as well as local economies across Canada. Pandemic-related supply chain disruptions already have projects facing serious delays. Many of these building material shortages can be attributed to a combination of a lack of raw materials for OEMs, a shortage of available ships to transport goods from Asia, and a lack of port infrastructure to process and offload the ships arriving in ports across North America. While these supply challenges are expected to be temporary, they will certainly cause headaches for project managers trying to squeeze new projects into their already busy schedules.
Another challenge is that many companies are already busy with projects. The industry is seeing a boost in public and private investment for almost all types of infrastructure, so availability of skilled labour may further stretch viable timeframes for projects (for more on this, see our 2022 Forecast on page 11). Since this is a state of emergency, the province will surely do its best to prioritize getting these projects shovel-ready as soon as possible, but getting such projects to the finish line will be more challenging than normal. When these roads are rebuilt, a great deal of planning will need to go into how this infrastructure is designed for dealing with potential future flooding in the new reality we live in with rising temperatures and climate change. The rebuilding process would also be an ideal time for these provinces to review their remaining aging transportation infrastructure and take a hard look at what improvements will need to be made to protect those assets and the residents that depend on them for their day-to-day commuting and safe travels. B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming recently told news reporters that the roads and bridges will be build back better than they were, stating, “Our infrastructure will be rebuilt to withstand the new climate realities that we find ourselves in.” Let’s hope that this is indeed the case, as this recent flooding is unlikely to be the only impending disaster stemming from the realities of a changing climate, especially in coastal provinces like B.C. and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Adam Freill / Editor afreill@annexbusinessmedia.com
on-sitemag.com / 5
