The City of Saskatoon’s North Commuter Parkway & Traffic Bridge
Location: Saskatoon
Status: Operational
Value of Partnership: $293.4 million NPV
Type of P3: DBFOM
Handback: 2048
Awards: 2018 Gold Award for Infrastructure, National Awards for Innovation & Excellence in P3s
At the time it opened in October 2018, this $293.4-million (NPV) project was the largest infrastructure project ever delivered in the City of Saskatoon and the first bundled transportation P3 in Canada.
The 33-year DBFOM performance and availability agreement is comprised of two bundles: 1.) the North Commuter Parkway (8.3 kilometres of new arterial roads) and the new Chief Mistawasis Bridge and 2.) the replacement of the 109-year-old Traffic Bridge.
The new six-lane bridge on the Parkway pays tribute to Chief Mistawasis, the Cree Chief who signed Treaty 6, while the modern steel-truss structure of the rebuilt Traffic Bridge uses complex engineering to preserve its historical character while meeting today’s safety standards.
The project’s cost savings by using the P3 delivery model were estimated at $69.4 million, compared to conventional project procurement.
Graham Commuter Partners is responsible for the operations, maintenance, and repair/ rehabilitation of the bridges and roadways until 2048.
This project is a great example of how bundling can be used as a strategy to make project delivery more cost-effective. In this case, the City of Saskatoon needed to deliver two different transportation projects which, although both critical, were unrelated and located in different areas of the city. By bundling the work into a single project, economies of scale were achieved in procurement, design, construction, and financing, improving the overall affordability of the combined program.
Partners: City of Saskatoon andGraham Commuter Partners General Partnership (GCP)
Other Participants:
Public Sector: Associated Engineering Group Ltd. – Technical Advisor; Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP – Legal Advisor; BTY Consultancy Group Inc. – Technical Advisor; CIMA+ Canada Inc. –Technical Advisor; Collings Johnston Inc. – Technical Advisor; Golder Associates Ltd. – Geotechnical Lead; JD Campbell & Associates – Fairness Advisor; KPMG LLP – Financial and Business Advisor; MHPM Project Managers Inc. – Technical Advisor; Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Ltd. – Technical Advisor; Opus International Consultants (Canada) Limited – Technical Advisor; Patching Associates Acoustical Engineering Ltd. – Technical Advisor; Stantec Consulting Ltd. – Technical Advisor; Zacaruk Consulting Inc. – Technical Advisor
Private Sector: Altus Group Limited – Lenders’ Technical Advisor; Applied Research Associates Inc. (ARA) – Asphalt/ Pavement Advisor; ASL Paving Ltd. – O&M Lead; BDO UK LLP – Financial Model Auditor; Bilfinger RE Asset Management North America Inc. – OM&R Advisor; Clifton Associates Ltd. – Geotechnical Design Lead; COWI Bridge North America – Bridge Design Lead; DLA Piper – Lenders’ Legal Advisor; Ernst & Young LLP – Tax Advisor; Graham Infrastructure LP – Design Builder; Intech Risk Management GmbH – Insurance Advisor; McMillan LLP – Legal Advisor; National Bank Financial – Financial Advisor; Steer Davies Gleave – Traffic Advisor; Tetra Tech – Roadway Design Lead
