Awards
2010 summit award® recipients
the environment and sustainability award
This award recognizes excellence in the application of engineering, geological and geophysical methods towards preservation of the environment and the practice of sustainable development.
The Northwest Stoney Trail
Expansion Project
The Northwest Stoney Trail Expansion Project extends from south of Country Hills Boulevard to west of Deerfoot Trail in the northwest quadrant of the Calgary ring road, and includes 15 kilometres of four-lane freeway and four interchanges, as well as four bridges across West Nose Creek. Stoney Trail, located in the provincial Transportation Utility Corridor (TUC), is a 300 metre-wide corridor around Calgary intended to contain the ring road and regional and municipal utility installations. The extension is an integral part of the transportation network and provides Albertans with safe and efficient travel and shipping routes as well as relieving traffic pressure on other local roads.
Grading was designed and constructed for the ultimate eight-lane freeway and three additional future interchanges. The project was undertaken on behalf of Alberta Transportation by a partnership of engineering consulting firms consisting of AECOM (previously UMA), AMEC, and Associated Engineering. The consultant team began design work on the project in 2003. The roadway was partially opened in autumn 2008, a larger section in summer 2009 and the full roadway opened in November 2009.
The design team for the project successfully incorporated design and best practices that took into consideration both the sensitive ecology of the location and the historical significance of the site. The end result is a reduced-impact, sustainable transportation solution.
To mitigate project impacts on the natural environment, the design team took a proactive approach, developing and implementing an environmental protection plan to produce a sustainable end product. There were many challenges presented during the planning stages.
From the beginning, the consultant team decided that storm water designs would include run-off from the entire TUC. The run-off was managed on site so that unregulated or untreated flows do not discharge into natural water courses. It also provides aesthetically pleasing and functional storm water management facilities that are self-regulated and require minimal maintenance and minimal power input that is provided by solar power cells.
Recognizing the importance of the natural wetland areas along the proposed roadway alignment, the project team, wherever possible, retained and incorporated them into the new storm water management facilities. The team compensated for residual impacts to natural wetlands by constructing engineered wetland facilities that provide a variety of habitat for wildlife, such as deer, amphibians and birds, in addition to their primary function of removing sediment and other contaminants from storm water run-off.
To reduce stream bank erosion, preserve riparian areas, protect infrastructure and increase public safety, the Nose Creek Watershed Partnership established maximum allowable storm water release rates. These release rates were used in the design of storm water management facilities that discharge to either West Nose Creek or Nose Creek so that net flow to the creek remained at preconstruction rates. Guided by input from environmental stakeholders, four metre-wide single-span wildlife passages were incorporated under bridges at West Nose Creek to encourage use of the passageway by wildlife.
An Historical Resources Impact Assessment was completed for the project. The assessment identified an historic buffalo rubbing stone feature at the planned location of the Stoney Trail / Beddington Boulevard interchange. In order to preserve the stone as a reminder of the historic landscape, the boulder was excavated and relocated. During grading of the Harvest Hills Boulevard interchange ramp, a pre-historic fossil bed estimated to be 60-million-years-old was discovered. Construction in the area was halted while the paleontological significance of the site was investigated and modifications were made to preserve the fossil outcrop for possible future study.