Parsons and Flatiron Constructors Partner on Phase 2 of Kicking Horse Canyon Improvement Project.

PASADENA, Calif. -- Parsons has joined with Flatiron Constructors of Canada Ltd. as Trans Park Highway Constructors in a design-build joint venture to design and construct the Phase 2 Improvements of the Kicking Horse Canyon Improvement Project. This $125 million (Canadian) fast-track project includes construction of 4.6 kilometers of new highway pavement along a new alignment and a 400-meter bridge high above the Kicking Horse River. Parsons will provide design management, bridge design, and construction quality control while Flatiron Constructors will lead the construction. The client, Trans Park Highway General Partnership (TPHG) is the concessionaire to improve, operate, and maintain a 26 kilometer corridor for 25 years for the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation.

Located on the Trans-Canada Highway in eastern British Columbia, and serving as the major east-west connection between British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, the design-build project passes through Kicking Horse Canyon between Golden, BC, and the western boundary of Yoho National Park. This 26 kilometer corridor is currently a narrow, winding, two-lane road with steep rock drop-offs to the Kicking Horse River, sharp grades, and substandard alignment. The corridor has had no significant upgrades since its construction in the mid-1950s and presents an ongoing maintenance challenge due to adverse weather conditions and frequent rock fall. As one of the highest rock fall hazard areas in the Canadian province, it has 2.3 times the average accident rate for this type of facility.

"This project is an excellent example of Parsons' continued focus on providing innovative engineered solutions for highly technical transportation projects," said James Shappell, Parsons transportation group president. "We are pleased to help improve the Trans-Canada Highway, which is the provincial government's number one transportation priority."

Begun in October 2005, the project's aggressive schedule will allow traffic on the realigned highway and new bridge by November 2007 with completion in early 2008. Meeting this schedule requires active construction year round, even in difficult winter weather conditions.

The improvement project exemplifies the trend toward public-private partnerships in which a private entity is funding the improvements and will operate and maintain the corridor for the next 25 years in exchange for payments from the Province (Progress Payments) based on traffic volumes and service levels. The concessionaire, TPHG, is a non-recourse special purpose company established by Bilfinger Berger BOT Inc.

Parsons, celebrating over 60 years of setting industry standards, is a leader in many diversified markets such as transportation, infrastructure, planning, facilities, industrial processes, communications, water, environmental, and advanced technology. Parsons provides technical and management solutions to private industrial customers worldwide as well as federal, regional, and local government agencies. For more about Parsons, please visit us at www.parsons.com.