Highway 63 Widening – AT 7190/07

May 25th of 2008, E Construction Fort McMurray began construction on the Highway 63 widening project for Alberta Transportation which was substantially complete on September 4th.  Tendered value of the project was $17.3 million. The project consisted of widening 4.7kms of highway shoulder for both north and south bound lanes for an approximate total of 9.5kms inside the city of Fort McMurray. 

The scope of work included realignment of a major curve on the older north bound to lanes to match the newer south bound alignment which had been construction in recent years.  During the course of the project, approximately 120,000 cubic meters of common excavation was moved and placed, 43,000 tonnes of granular base hauled and placed, and 49,000 tonnes of hot mix asphalt was placed on the full width of both north and south bound lanes for a total of 9.5kms. 

Also included in the scope of work were the improvement of 2 major intersections at Highway 63 and Mackenzie Blvd. and the installation of a culvert deformation monitoring system in a section of culvert that crossed under both the north and south bound lanes.  The project also included but was not limited to Mill and Fill crack repair, signage repairs and upgrades, illumination repairs and upgrades, culvert extension, and durable roadway messages and line markings.

Project Highlights

• 800 tonnes of warm mix asphalt placed in a first of its kind test section on the south bound lanes. The owner was very pleased with the warm mix trial and it was our highest density test lot on the job even though it was a cool day and the mix temperature was significantly reduced.
• 15% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) was utilized in the asphalt mix for the entire project
• Upwards of 80 men were working on site at one time without any worker injuries or significant safety incidents.
• Met all EPS criteria with no segregation and no density or segregation penalty
• Project finished on time and under budget