Anthony Henday Drive Southeast

operational

Opportunity For thirty years the Province of Alberta and City of Edmonton had been planning a transportation and utility corridor around the fast-growing city. Construction on the west and east portion of the road began in the 1990s using traditional procurement. With $500 million of Alberta’s 2003 Budget for highways set aside for alternative financing mechanisms, the government opted to use a P3 model for construction of the Southeast leg, a first in the province. Challenges Building 11 kilometres of crucial roadway around the rapidly expanding City of Edmonton without disrupting traffic and dislocating residents on a significant scale. Innovations During the project’s planning phase, the Ministry of Transportation consulted extensively with the transportation industry about the delivery process, construction and financial documents. As part of their bid submissions, the short-listed bidders were required to include a fixed price and the lowest compliant bid was selected. The private sector partner received no payment until the project was complete. Results The P3 model ensured the road—a vital transportation link in the province featuring 24 bridge structures, including five interchanges— was finished on-time and within budget. The P3 model motivated the private sector partner to open the road earlier than planned as this reduced its debt cost. The Province built in a 30-year warranty for maintenance and operation of the southeast leg of the ring road, requiring the private sector to meet set standards over the contract term or to be financially penalized. The project won the Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association Environment Management Practice Award, and the Canadian Design-Build Award of Excellence. Based on the success of the Anthony Henday Drive Southeast P3 project, the provincial government followed the same made-in-Alberta P3 process for the Calgary Northeast Ring Road, opened in 2009; the northwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive, opened in 2011; and Anthony Henday Drive northeast, currently under construction.    “Anthony Henday Drive southeast is an excellent example of how P3 projects can build critical infrastructure projects on time, on budget and at a significantly lower risk for taxpayers." - Alina Osorio, CEO of Macquarie Essential Assets Partnerships

High