September 14, 2009
Project Update

Golden Hill – How the Stage was Set

GOLDEN – Preparation of the road bed for the Golden Hill 4th lane extension finished at the end of July, ahead of schedule, thanks to the hard work of everyone on the project. “On behalf of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, I’d like to thank each crew member for their dedication and commitment to the job, which was carried out in a safe and responsible manner,” said Murray Tekano, Senior Project Director.

The work was carried out by day labour construction, whereby the Ministry hires local workers and equipment directly. The crew was 99% local, and equipment included dump trucks, dozers, crawlers, excavators, packers, graders, grinders, water tankers and sweeper trucks.

Finding interested local equipment operators was definitely not an issue. In fact, the timing of the day labour project was excellent for the local Golden economy, which has been impacted by recent economic events, particularly for lumber-related businesses.

The Ministry has used hired equipment lists for day labour projects since the late 1970s, but this was the first time it was used on the Kicking Horse Canyon Project.

Dawson Construction of Kamloops will soon be finishing the grading, drainage, and paving work so the new lane can open to traffic in October. The hillside will also be replanted this fall.