The Twinning of
HIGHWAY 104 By Brian J. Hall Construction is ongoing on a $718-million joint venture to twin Highway 104 in Nova Scotia
from Sutherlands River east of New Glasgow to Antigonish. The thoroughfare, part of the
Trans-Canada Highway, is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the history
LâĂ©largissement
DE LA ROUTEâŻ104
of Nova Scotia.
Par Brian J. Hall
The project entails building 28 kilometres of a new twolane twinned highway and 10 kilometres of new four-lane twinned highway, beginning east of New Glasgow near Exit 27 at Sutherlands River, and running east to just west of Exit 31. There are two new interchanges and 24 new bridges along the route. Crews are currently working on the project between Antigonish and James River which involves cuts and fills to construct a new roadbed with a driving surface and building new infrastructure.
La construction dâun projet conjoint de 718 millions
The project has been in the works since 2015 when a review was completed on all highways in Nova Scotia and it was determined that the province should look at twinning a number of its 100-series highways to make them safer. A feasibility study was conducted and, after receiving input from the public, the province chose a route and P3 model for the venture. While there are varying P3 models to choose from, the province selected the Design-BuildFinance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM) approach, and in July 2018 pared the number to three preferred bidders. An RFP was issued in early 2019 and the successful bidder was announced in the spring of 2020. The Project was awarded in May 2020 to Dexter Nova Alliance (DNA), led by contractors Dexter Construction and Nova Construction. As a P3 project, DNA has taken on the responsibilities of Designing, Building, Financing, Operating, and Maintaining (DBFOM) the highway for 20 years. The highway will remain in operation while construction work is underway, further complicating the build. The plan is to first build the twinned portion of the highway and then flip traffic to the new segment to do the necessary repairs and repaving. 40
IMAGINEERING - FALL/WINTER 2021
de dollars pour lâĂ©largissement de lâautorouteâŻ104 en Nouvelle-Ăcosse, de Sutherlands River, Ă lâest de New Glasgow, Ă Antigonish, a dĂ©butĂ©. Cette
voie de communication, qui fait partie de la route
transcanadienne, est lâun des plus grands projets
dâinfrastructures de lâhistoire de la Nouvelle-Ăcosse. Le projet prĂ©voit la construction de 28 kilomĂštres dâune nouvelle autoroute Ă deux voies et de dix kilomĂštres de nouvelle autoroute Ă quatre voies, Ă partir de lâest de New Glasgow, prĂšs de la sortieâŻ27 Ă Sutherlands River jusquâĂ lâouest de la sortieâŻ31. Il y a deux nouveaux Ă©changeurs et 24 nouveaux ponts le long de lâitinĂ©raire. Les Ă©quipes travaillent actuellement sur le projet entre Antigonish et James River, ce qui comprend des travaux de dĂ©blai et de remblai pour construire une nouvelle plate-forme et une nouvelle surface de roulement, ainsi que la construction de nouvelles infrastructures. Le projet est en cours depuis 2015, date Ă laquelle un examen de toutes les autoroutes de la Nouvelle-Ăcosse a Ă©tĂ© effectuĂ©, et quâil a Ă©tĂ© dĂ©terminĂ© que la province devrait envisager lâĂ©largissement Ă quatre voies dâun certain nombre de ses autoroutes de la sĂ©rieâŻ100 afin de les rendre plus sĂ©curitaires. Une Ă©tude de faisabilitĂ© a Ă©tĂ© menĂ©e et, aprĂšs avoir reçu les commentaires du public, la province a choisi un itinĂ©raire et un modĂšle PPP pour le projet. Bien quâil existe divers modĂšles de PPP parmi lesquels choisir, la province a choisi lâapproche CCFEE (conception â construction â financement â exploitation â entretien) et, en juillet 2018, elle a rĂ©duit le nombre Ă trois soumissionnaires privilĂ©giĂ©s. Un appel dâoffres a Ă©tĂ© lancĂ© au dĂ©but de 2019 et le soumissionnaire retenu a Ă©tĂ© annoncĂ© au printempsâŻ2020.