International engineering consulting group COWI has been awarded a $15M Province of British Columbia contract as the Owner’s Engineer on the George Massey Crossing Project, and eight-lane immersed tunnel across British Columbia’s (BC) Fraser River.
The new tunnel will have three general purpose traffic lanes and one dedicated bus lane in each direction, as well as a bi-directional multi-use cycle path/pedestrian walkway to improve travel across the river without restricting navigable space for marine traffic. COWI will provide the reference concepts and geotechnical underpinning for the ambitious CD$4.15bn river crossing. Drawing on its experience designing the original George Massey tunnel in 1959, COWI will conceptualize and oversee removal of the original four-lane tunnel and construction of its eight-lane replacement.
COWI will create pioneering flood control systems around the new tunnel that can withstand extreme river flows as well as anticipated increased sea levels.
Darryl Matson, Senior Project Director for the project at COWI in North Vancouver said: “It’s projects like these that light up the engineer inside each of us. We are very passionate about this project as it lies in the backyard of our local team – we use it frequently so we know what a difference we can make to the community. It’s a key transportation link with engineering challenges such as minimising disruption to local ecosystems during construction and ensuring the final tunnel will stand up to natural disasters. It will both test and showcase our talented engineers. The tunnel will break new ground with a dedicated pathway for cyclists and pedestrians and a dedicated bus lane alongside road traffic, helping create cleaner transport and bringing huge trade and travel benefits to the local communities.”
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