Toronto, Ontario – August 14, 2007: Aecon Group Inc. (TSX: ARE) announced today that it has been awarded an $88.7 million contract by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for work on the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) in Oakville between Burloak Drive and Third Line. It is the second largest contract MTO has ever awarded, and the largest MTO contract Aecon has received.
The project involves the construction of a fourth lane in both the eastbound and westbound directions between Burloak Drive and Third Line to serve as High Occupancy Vehicle lanes (HOV). As part of the project, Aecon will also be rehabilitating the existing QEW bridge at Bronte Road and building a new bridge under the QEW as part of a widening and realignment of Bronte Road.
To allow for minimal traffic disruption during construction, traffic on the QEW will be diverted to a new bridge being completed under a separate MTO contract. Once the project is completed, this bridge will accommodate only eastbound traffic, while westbound traffic will use the newly refurbished bridge completed as part of the Aecon project.
In addition to the substantial bridge structure work, the contract involves grading, drainage, hot mix paving, and traffic signal illumination. The contract includes the installation of 12,000 cubic metres of concrete, 250,000 tonnes of granular, 100,000 tonnes of asphalt, as well as the excavation of 267,000 cubic meters of earth and 238,000 cubic meters of rock.
Work on the project has already begun and is scheduled to be completed in July, 2011.
“MTO has been a valued customer of Aecon's for over 75 years, and we are very pleased to be working on this project which is the largest contract we have done for the MTO,” said Teri McKibbon, President, Aecon Civil & Utilities. “We look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship with MTO as we complete this important and complicated contract.”
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.