Elements of this extensive project include:

• Widening 8.5 km of QEW from two lanes to three lanes each direction, separated by a median tall wall barrier
• Reconfiguring ramps at four interchanges
• Demolishing four existing bridges and constructing four new bridges, including a 55m single-span signature bridge, widening one bridge and rehabilitating two existing bridges
•  2.3 km of retaining wall and 5.4 km of noise wall
• High mast and conventional illumination
• Improving drainage and storm water management
• Landscaping and aesthetics design for corridor vision
• Complex construction staging to maintain traffic on the QEW and municipal streets during construction

As Lead Consultant for this Total Project Management (TPM) Detailed Design service assignment,  Morrison Hershfield provides the following services:

• Overall project management
• Detailed design for highway engineering, structural engineering, electrical engineering and preparation of contract package
• Management of sub-consultants for engineering survey, geotechnical investigation and pavement design, environmental planning, drainage and hydrology
• Corridor Vision exercise through enhanced consultation with the City of St. Catharines’ Green Committee, stakeholders and the public to identify landscaping and other requirements to achieve an integrated aesthetic vision for the QEW corridor
• Extensive coordination throughout the design process with the Region of Niagara, City of St. Catharines, utility companies, provincial and regional police and emergency services, environmental and other external agencies and the public

Morrison Hershfield’s extensive freeway design and contract administration experience ensured this complex design was practical and constructable.  Extensive coordination was undertaken with the municipalities, utilities, external agencies and the public to ensure the process ran smoothly and on schedule.  This is especially important to the client as the federal BIF funding is expected to discontinue by the end of 2010.