Ottawa, Ontario – June 27, 2007: Aecon Group Inc. (TSX: ARE) announced today that The Karson Group has been awarded a $56 million contract for work on Highway 417 in Ottawa, from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO). The Karson Group, acquired by Aecon earlier this year, is one of the largest aggregate, asphalt and civil construction companies in Eastern Ontario.
The project involves the construction of two new lanes in each direction along a 6.5 km stretch of Highway 417 just west of Highway 416, as well as the removal of the eastbound Highway 417 bridge at the Ottawa Central Railway (OCR) and construction of a new bridge in its place. The project also involves the resurfacing of 3.2 km of Highway 416, as well as the improvement of highway safety features and rehabilitation of the existing Highway 417 bridges at Moodie Drive and the OCR.
In an effort to keep traffic disruptions at a minimum, removal of the old bridge and construction of the new bridge will be completed in stages. Once construction is complete, one lane in each direction will be designated as High Occupancy Vehicle lanes (HOV).
“This is a significant project for the MTO and we are extremely pleased to have been awarded the contract,” said William Karson, Founder and President of The Karson Group. “As this project demonstrates, the combined resources of Karson and Aecon significantly increases the services we can offer our clients in the Ottawa area.”
The scope of work involves the installation of high mast light poles, 10,000 cubic metres of concrete, 170,000 tonnes of asphalt, 500,000 tonnes of granular, as well as the excavation of 240,000 cubic metres of earth. Construction on the project is scheduled for completion in July of 2009.
“The Highway 417 contract illustrates our strengthened scope of service in the Eastern Ontario region,” said Teri McKibbon, President, Aecon Civil & Utilities. “We look forward to working closely with the Karson team and congratulate them on what is surely the first of many such projects.”
The Karson Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aecon Group, is an integrated construction and materials company comprised of Karson Construction, Karson Asphalt Paving Inc. and Spratt Aggregates (Karson Aggregates). It is one of the largest companies of its kind in the Ottawa / Eastern Ontario market.
Aecon Group Inc. is Canada's largest publicly traded construction and infrastructure development company. Aecon and its subsidiaries provide services to private and public sector clients throughout Canada and internationally.