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NOVEMBER 2010 VOL. 7 NO. 1

CONSTRUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7TRANSPORTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8READY MIX NEWS INSIDE

DEPARTMENTS

By ANDY WALKERThey have been standard fare onhighways adjacent to large urbanareas across North America but thefirst Durisol sound absorptive noisebarrier system is now under con-struction in Atlantic Canada.

Story on page 2

NOISE BARRIERSYSTEM UNDERCONSTRUCTION

By NANCY KING Cape Breton Post[Sydney, NS]—The province has extendeda subsidy to prop up the Cape Breton andCentral Nova Scotia Railway and will setup a working group in an effort to buildtraffic on the Cape Breton section of theline.

Story on page 9

RAILWAY SUBSIDY

Engineers from 4 Engineer Support Regiment in Gagetown, New Brunswick and 56 Engineer Squadron from St. John’s, Newfoundland guide a panel into place on an ACROWbridge they were building to reconnect Trouty, NL with the rest of the province after its main bridge was destroyed in Hurricane Igor. (See story on page 6) (Photo: MCpl Angela Abbey,Canadian Forces Combat Camera © 2010 DND-MDN Canada)

ACROW BRIDGECONSTRUCTED

By HEIDI RILEY“So few women work in the trades and

technology field,” says Catherine Ronahan,with Trade HERizons. “About 25 per cent of(Prince Edward) Island IT workers and lessthan two percent of trades workers arewomen. These are desirable jobs that paywell, and we help women take steps to ac-cess to these opportunities.”

Story on page 7

WOMEN MOVE TOCAREERS IN TRADESAND TECHNOLOGY

By TRANSCONTINENTAL STAFFThe scheduled takeoff of a new regional air-line has been delayed over a paperworkissue.

Story on page 8

NEW AIRLINE DELAYED

ACROW BRIDGECONSTRUCTED

Tel:(902)443-4456 Fax:(902)429-6696Web site: www.atlanticconcrete.caEmail: info@atlanticconcrete.ca

Atlantic Concrete Association (ACA)Association béton Atlantique (AbA)

(FormerlyAtlantic Provinces ReadyMixed ConcreteAssociation)Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: below return address

30 Damascus Road, Suite 216 Bedford, NS Canada B4A 0C1

Publication Mail Agreement #41772012

AFFIX MAIL LABEL HERE

A living wall ..............................................................2The new ACA Generation ......................................... 4Dates to Remember ................................................5ACA Memorial Scholarships ......................................6Admixtures............................................................... 6

Tilt-up technology is making inroads into the New-foundland construction market and is an opportu-nity that has not been lost on J.W. LindsayConstruction. Full story Page 3

Tilt-up technologytaking off in NL

• Our deepest condolences to family, friends and col-leagues of Freeman Miles, 82 of Summerside, PE.Freeman, who passed away August 1, 2010, workedat M.F. Schurman Ltd. for 31 years and twice (1969and 1984) served as president of the AtlanticProvinces Ready Mixed Concrete Association.

• Our deepest condolences also go to family, friends andcolleagues of Robert Hudson,42 of Portugal Cove,NL.Robert was lost at sea October 2, 2010. Rob was ahighly valued employee of A-1 Concrete Products.

• ACA now has truck decals available for members.They are $6.00 each. Follow this link to order yourshttp://www.atlanticconcrete.ca/archdoc.php?docid=7

• Welcoming new producer members:• A-1 Ready Mix Ltd., Kentville, NS• Barkers Construction, Baie Verte, NL• H & H Enterprises,Wabush, NL• Hutchings Concrete, St. Paul’s, NL• Provincial Ready Mix, Placentia, NL

• Introducing new associate members:• Ciment Quebec Inc., Yves Brousseau,(418)329-2100

• City Tire & Auto Centre, Craig Humphries,(709)689-5988

Continued on page 5

WINTER 2010

A t l a n t i c C o n c r e t e A s s o c i a t i o n • A s s o c i a t i o n b é t o n A t l a n t i q u e

Ready Mix Briefs

Astrip of pervious concrete in a Halifax uni-versity parking lot could be another solutionto urban drainage flow problems.

“This is a test case,” said LandscapeArchitectCary Vollick of Vollick McKee Petersmann, whowas the prime consultant site designer for the proj-ect. “We’re quite anxious to see how it holds up inall types of weather.”Working with a team from Dalhousie Univer-

sity Facilities Management and Jeffrey Pinhey,P.Eng., ofAble Engineering, the university parkinglot at the corner of Coburg and Oxford is the testsite for the project.Completed in September, a 60m by 5.45m

strip of pervious concrete was installed along theedge of the parking lot on the lowest elevation,

while the remainder of the lot was resurfacedwithtraditional asphalt.The concrete sits on top of a bed of clear stone

that serves as water storage during downpours, al-lowing water percolation into the subsoil. Any un-usual drainage flow conditions are handled by aperforated pipe buried under the length of the per-vious section.“Tomy knowledge, this is first real world park-

ing lot application inNova Scotia if not theAtlanticRegion” for pervious concrete, said Vollick.GordonLeaman, P.Eng., SeniorMaterials En-

gineer at Stantec was also part of the design team.Leamanwas responsible for the pervious concretemix design and the on-site quality control duringthe concrete placement.Vollick and Pinhey were encouraged by Colin

Dickson, P.Eng., from the Cement Association of

Canada to give consideration to a pervious con-crete installation, which lead in part to the deci-sion to try it out at Dalhousie.“We’re all very interested to see how it per-

forms,” Vollick said. If does work well, “It will offeranother solution and a very creditable one to theparking lot design and storm water mitigation.”The installation team also included construc-

tionmanager Brian Sanford, Dexter Construction,and Dave Marcattili, OSCO, who supplied theconcrete mix.The project was also supported by Dalhousie

University Facilities Management team of LewisMacDonald, P. Eng., Mechanical Planning Man-ager, and Garry Martell, Project Manager for theimplementation phase of the project.

Prominent Dalhousie corner lot testsite for pervious concrete installation

A crew installs pervious concrete in the Dalhousie University parking lot at the corner of Coburg and Oxford in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The test strip is a potential solution tourban drainage flow problems. (Photo: Atlantic Concrete Association.)

By KATHY JOHNSON

2 WINTER 2010 | ACA’s READY MIX NEWS

Building with Ready mixed concrete offers op-portunities for designers, architects, engineers, con-tractors, concrete producers andothers tomaximizecredits offered by the GreenBuilding Council’sLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED®) 2009 for New Construction and Major

Renovations. The ReadyMixed Concrete IndustryLEEDReferenceGuide, ThirdEdition, that canbedownloaded at this link: http://www.concretepro-motion.org/Application_Resources/Downloads/LEED_reference_guide_2009_3rd-edition.pdf showsyou how.

Boost LEED points with concrete

The Nova Scotia Community College’s(NSCC) Centre for the Built Environmentat the Waterfront Campus in Dartmouth is

living up to its name. Literally.Last spring, after two years of research and de-

velopment, the first exterior livingwall “east of Van-couver and north of New York City” took root atthe campus, creating an outdoor, vertical oasis,uniquely suited to Nova Scotia’s harsh northernclimate.Planned, designed and built by landscape ar-

chitect Sue Sirrs, owner of Outside! Planning andDesign Studio, and TimAmos, faculty at NSCC’sKingstecCampus inKentville, nowhere else in theworld could an example of an exterior living wallbuilt to withstand the cold climate be found.“It had to be able to sustain severe weather,”

Sirrs said.Assisted by horticulture landscape students

from Kingstec, five planting systems using 85 dif-ferent plant species were tested before 24were se-lected.The 900-square foot living wall, which is at-

tached to an exterior cast-in place tilt-up concretewall, features 7,000 plants that will create a sea-sonal canvas of colors, textures, flowers andberries, said Sirrs.“It’s growing fantastically. The living wall has

really been successful in its first six months. I’mlooking forward to seeing it through its first winter

and first spring.”The plants in the living wall are supported by

a metal framed, basket system, comprised of 100,3x3 foot square baskets, 10 inches deep, and at-tached to the tilt-up wall with “some pretty majorbolts holding it all together,” said Sirrs.Sirrs worked with Halifax’s BMR Structural

Engineering to make sure the tilt-up wall couldwithstand the saturated weight and growth of thelivingwall, while also taking into consideration anysnow or ice load.The basket system, which extends 75 feet in

length and 12 feet in height, straddles the expan-sion joints in the tilt-up construction, and is backedby a PVC vapour barrier, allowing both the naturaland manmade structures to breathe.The project has Sirrs thinking about the envi-

ronmental benefits exterior living walls could havein core urban areas, such as Quinpool Road indowntown Halifax.Transplanting a little green onto the urban

landscape will mitigate heat on a sweltering sum-mer day, improve air quality and can even providespace for a community garden.“In dense urban areas, there’s no more room

for gardens on the horizontal level,” the landscapearchitect said. “Wehave to start thinking of the ver-tical plane.”Meanwhile the NSCC’s exterior living wall is

part of an ongoing research project, Sirrs added,providing valuable information for the develop-ment of similar projects in the future.

NSCC’s living wall ‘a first’By KATHY JOHNSON

TheLafarge cement plant in Brookfield, NovaScotia is now in the process of significantlyreducing its carbon footprint.

The plant has received $670,000 in fundingfrom the ecoNova Scotia Fund for Clean Air andClimate Change to produce low-carbon cement.JoshDeCoste, an environmental engineer at the

plant, said new equipment was being installed inOctober to allow for the changes.“Right now, we don’t have the capacity to pro-

duce carbon reduced cement on a commercialscale,” he said. “Obviously, that is the first step thathas to happen.”DeCoste said the renovations should be com-

pletednext spring.He said the plantwill be the firstin the region to offer the product on a large scale.“Other plants have experimented with it.”After theproduction issues have been dealt with, DeCostesaid the next step would be to convince clients

about the merits of the change.“At first it will be one more product we are of-

fering our clients, our hope is it will eventually bethe standard production practice at our plant.” De-Coste added that research and development effortsto date have resulted in reducingCO2 emissions by2,500 tonnes.“Ourultimate goal is certainly to replace100per

cent of our general-use cement in the market withthese new types of low-carbon cements,” he said.“By doing this, we reduce the environmental foot-print of this plant by 76,000 tonnes of carbon diox-ide every year. That’s equivalent to about 10,000carscoming off the road.”The change is also expected to extend the life

of the Brookfield quarry and reduce fossil fuel con-sumption and plant emissions. DeCoste said thecompany is committed to reducing its carbon foot-print and “obviously this is amajor part of that effortbut it will take some time to fully implement.”

ecoNova Scotia invests in Lafarge plantBy ANDY WALKER

The first exterior living wall in the region took root at the Nova Scotia Community College’s Centre for the BuiltEnvironment at the Waterfront Campus in Dartmouth last spring. It was planned, designed and built by landscapearchitect Sue Sirrs and Tim Amos from NSCC’s Kingstec Campus in Kentville. (Photo: Sue Sirrs.)

2011Annual General

Meeting &Conference

February 9 to 11, 2011Crowne Plaza, Fredericton NB

Email: robert.simpson@gnb.cafor Conference sponsorship,and registration forms.

Call for Technical PresentationsDeadline: December 17, 2010This year’s technical theme is:

“Concrete Design Research &Materials in Atlantic Canada”

Contact: Fred Strang, P. EngTel: (506) 453-5731 • Fax: (506) 444-5826

Email: fred.strang@gnb.ca

Atlantic ChapterAmerican Concrete Institute

Will be proudly hosting

3ACA’s READY MIX NEWS | WINTER 2010

Tilt-up technology is making inroads intothe Newfoundland construction marketand is an opportunity that has not been

lost on J.W. Lindsay Construction.“We had been toying around for a couple

of years with the idea of expanding into New-foundland,” said Laurence Smith, vice-presi-dent of engineering for the company.“The first couple of buildings we managed

from our Dartmouth office,” he explained, butthe company found it was “hit or miss” when itcame to finding out about potential projects.“About a year ago we opened an office in

Mount Pearl,” Smith said, and since then thecompany has five buildings under its belt andtwo more on the go.“I expect that will grow to eight or nine

buildings a year in the foreseeable future.“Today we’re erecting a car dealership in St.

John’s. We have eight or nine people on the jobsite. The lumber for the forms came from thelocal lumberyard, the rebar came from up thestreet, the concrete was supplied locally, thecrane supplied locally. It’s about as local as youcan get,” Smith said.“The only thing we bring in from Nova Sco-

tia are the drawings and the technology (andspecialty hardware when required).”With tilt-up construction, “we’ll stand this

building in one day,” Smith said. “The averagebuilding we do is no more than two days forthe lifting stage.”Tilt-up construction offers energy efficient

operations and buildings that hold their value,

he said.While tilt-up construction typically costs

10 per cent more than conventional methods,it costs 20 per cent less annually for buildingoperations, Smith explained. Those savings arerealized yearly throughout the life of the struc-ture, and at the end of the day “you have abuilding that’s still worth something.”“The energy cost saving is really the big

thing.” He noted that customers also find thesoundproofing that comes with tilt-up to be anadvantage.“The big advantage to tilt-up is our cus-

tomers sell it for us,” Smith said. After goingwith tilt-up, “people realize it’s a far superiorbuilding.” He estimated about 80 per cent ofbusiness is repeat customers. “It just makesmore sense to go with tilt-up.”Tilt-up is also music to concrete suppliers’

ears, Smith said. “The concrete suppliers arehappy when we do tilt-up because it prettywell doubles their order. For example, if afoundation calls for 300 cubic yards then thewalls will take the same amount.”J.W. Lindsay Construction’s primary con-

crete supplier in NL has been Capital Ready-Mix.Since branching in to Newfoundland, J.W.

Lindsay Construction has been the generalcontractors on the Pennecon Corporate OfficeExpansion project, as well as the Penney Kiaand the Summit Motors projects.The company also provided the tilt-up con-

struction on the Farrell’s Heavy EquipmentGarage project (ND Dobbin general contrac-tor) and the Island Office Furniture project

(general contractor Project Management Serv-ices).On the horizon, J.W. Lindsay Construction

will be erecting a new Lawton’s on ElizabethAvenue at Torbay Road (general contractor

Chimo) and will serve as general contractorsfor an office building project on Kelsey Drive.“We will build anywhere that it makes eco-

nomic sense,” Smith said.

Tilt-up technology taking off in NewfoundlandBy KATHY JOHNSON

Tilt-up technology was utilized to erect the Penny KIA car dealership on Kenmount Road in St. John’s, Newfound-land. Even considering winter conditions, the tilting-up of panels was achieved in 3 days. (Photo: J.W. Lindsay Con-struction)

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4 WINTER 2010 | ACA’s READY MIX NEWS

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ACA’s ready mix concrete member companies have deep connections with their communities. They use local raw material, employlocal people, and usually do work within an hour’s drive of their plants. Many of them are also family businesses started from “scratch” andpassed down the generations. Mary Macaulay, ACA’s Executive Director, had the opportunity to visit many of the producer members thispast summer and has posted photos of her visits on the ACA web photo gallery www.atlanticconcrete.ca/photo.php. We are featuring someof those photos below to help introduce the “new generation.” (Atlantic Concrete Association photos)

The 2010 ACA Annual Industry Golf Tournament in Amherst was agreat success with 100 industry partners schmoozing at the recep-tion Thursday night and enjoying the course playing “best ball” Fri-day morning. There were some nail-biting misses at the hole-in-onehole, and a few spills from the carts, but everyone went home happyafter a delicious steak lunch. Congratulations to the winning teamof Scott Flemming and Steve MacKenzie, Ocean Contractors; andMark Munro, Holcim Canada. Special thanks to Brian Meahan, Wal-lace Equipment; Steve Peters, Euclid Admixture Canada; ShaneMacDow, Pinnacle Agencies; and David Kline, Grace Canada, for or-ganizing another super event.

Another wonderful time was had by all at the ACA Summer Meet-ing and Family Fun weekend held at Oak Island Resort. Highlightsincluded a perfect afternoon for a round at the Chester Golf Club,fabulous boat tours around Mahone Bay, and a rollicking eveningof kids and karaoke at the Resort. Be sure to join us again nextyear for this fun time with family. We will be at the Fairmont Algo-nquin in beautiful St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick on Au-gust 12-13, 2011.

Karla Rasmussen – Rte 6 Ready Mix, Wallace, NS. Ronald, Richard & Lorne Losier – St. Isidore ReadyMix, St. Isidore, NB.Sonya & Jason Rice — V.J. Rice Concrete, Bridgetown, NS.

Mrs.Wonderful carries ACA’s finest out for a tour ofMahoneBay and its 100 islandsduring the annual summer meeting held at Oak Island Resort. (Photo: RichardNicolle)

Timothy Cook — Timothy Cook Construction, Wood-stock, NB.

René Blanchard – Group Blanchard, Dunlop, NB.

Introducing theNEW generation

Steve Peters and ShaneMacDowpresent the 2010winning team (Scott Flemming,Steve MacKenzie, and Mark Munro) with the ACA Industry Golf TournamentTrophy.

5ACA’s READY MIX NEWS | WINTER 2010

Continued from page 1• Component Repair & Supply, Dave Stultz,(506)857-2725

• Fundy Engineering & Consulting, Donnie Taweel,(902)566-2269

• Miller Tire, Roger Scott, (902)431-7733 ext 242• Richard Nicolle Photography, Richard Nicolle,(902)452-5573

• Simard Suspensions,Alain Haché,(418)435-5347

• William Perry Trucking, Dwayne Perry,(709)635-2506

• Welcome to Michael McSweeney – appointed newPresident and CEO of the Cement Association ofCanada (CAC) onMarch 30,2010. Michael joined theCAC in 2007 asVP, Industry Affairs and employed hisexpertise to advocate and build cement industry pol-icy positions, recommendations and strategies, to ad-vance corporate agendas with government, and toact as an information conduit for members. Michaelholds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business, anMPA from Harvard and a BA in Political Science andLaw from Carleton. His 30-year work experience in-cludes senior positions with Bennett Environmental,A.E. Holden and Associates, Archer Daniels Midlandand the Standards Council of Canada. He is a formerCity and Regional Councillor and a senior federal gov-ernment employee having worked as a special as-sistant for the Minister of Defense and as ExecutiveAssistant to the Leader of the Opposition and PrimeMinister of Canada.

• Watch for: ACA Memorial Scholarship Applicationsposted in February on the website. Dependants ofmembers in their final year of high school are eligibleto apply for these if they will be attending a Canadianinstitute of higher education. Some other conditionsapply.

Ready Mix Briefs

Events & Dates to Remember:• Concrete Canada – December 1-3, 2010 – MetroToronto Convention Centre

• 2nd Annual Decementfest Concrete Mixer – December13, 2010 – Garrison Brewery - by invitation only

• ACAWinter Board & CommitteeMeetings – January 10,2010 – Hampton Inn & Suites, Dartmouth Crossing

• World of Concrete – January 17-21, 2011 – Las VegasConvention Centre (Use discount code A12 to register)

• ACIAGM&Conference – February 9-11,2011 –CrownePlaza, Fredericton

• ACA AGM – March 12 to 19th, 2011- Excellence PlayaMujeres,Mayan Riviera, Mexico

• CAC Basic Concrete: Principles & Practise Course –

March 23-25, 2011 – NBCC,Moncton• CAC Basic Concrete: Principles & Practise Course –March 30 toApril 1, 2011 – College of NorthAtlantic, St.John’s

• ACA Annual Golf Tournament – June 2, 3rd, 2011 –AmherstWandlyn & Amherst Golf & Country Club

• ACA Summer Meeting & Family FunWeekend –August12, 13th, 2011 – Fairmont Algonquin, St. Andrews-by-the-Sea

• Concrete Delivery Professional certification courses(good for five years – wallet card and certificate) tenta-tive schedule (pending sufficient enrolment). Note inter-nationally recognized 1 day course is $175/pp, held on

a Saturday, lasts all day,snacks, lunch& dinner provided:· January 22, 2011 – Halifax, NS· January 29, 2011 – Bridgewater, NS· February 5, 2011 – Baddeck, NS· February 19, 2011 – Moncton, NB· April 2, 2011 – Grand Falls (French), NB· April 16, 2011 – Bathurst (French), NB· April 30, 2011 – St. John’s, NL· May 7, 2011 – Labrador City, NL

• Watch for a Pervious Certification Course early in theNewYear

• Watch for ACI Flatwork Course early in the NewYear

w w w . b i r d s t a i r s . c aPlease contact Bird Stairs for all your construction needs,

we have six convenient locations to serve you better.frederictonSaint John

MonctonDartmouth

HalifaxSaint John’s

The Cement Association of Canada is re-leasing a new 8th Edition of its Designand Control of Concrete Mixtures (publi-

cation code EB101) this fall.For over four decades this publication has

served as the industry standard for informationon cement and concrete. It is a standard refer-ence in Canadian university engineering pro-grams and professional design offices.The new 8th edition features 20 chapters in-

cluding two new chapters dealing with Sustain-ability and Durability.Chapter 2 on Sustainability outlines the en-

vironmentally beneficial characteristics of con-crete and its role in securing a sustainable

national infrastructure.Chapter 3 on Cements will feature a section

on the new more environmentally friendly “Port-land-limestone cement” that is now being man-ufactured in Canada and is recognised in thenew CSA cement and concrete standards.Chapter 11 on Durability synthesizes all the

concrete durability information in the publica-tion and will present educators and practitionerswith a valuable reference to specifying the mostdurable and sustainable concrete solution forany application.As is currently the case with the 7th edition,

the new 8th edition of EB101 will be availablethrough Orderline Inc. in Toronto. The publica-tion will be available in hard copy, CD, anddown loadable PDF format.

By RICK MCGRATHCAC Director of Codes and Standards

New updated 8th edition of Design and Control ofConcrete Mixtures has added chapters and content.

6 WINTER 2010 | ACA’s READY MIX NEWS

Set accelerating admixtures increase thehydration rate of hydraulic cements,shorten setting time, and increase the

rate of early strength development in concrete.Set accelerators are designated by ASTMC494 as either Type C or Type E chemical ad-mixtures. Type C accelerators are not requiredto contribute to water reduction, but Type Eaccelerators must provide at least a 5% waterreduction over a control mix.Historically, the most common set acceler-

ating admixture was calcium chloride (CaCl2).CaCl2 is available in two forms—dry flake andbulk liquid. Dry flake calcium chloride is spec-ified as either ASTM D98, Type 1 which mustcontain a minimum of 77% CaCl2 or by ASTMD98, Type 2—concentrated calcium chloride,which must contain a minimum of 94% cal-cium chloride. Liquid calcium chloride isavailable in a 29% to 34% solution meetingASTM C494 Type C, and is sometimesblended with water reducing admixtures tomeet the Type E designation.Because calcium chloride has been avail-

able as a cement accelerator since the 1880s,its effects have been studied extensively. Cal-cium chloride can corrode embedded metals—especially problematic in pre-stressedconcrete—and is strictly limited in its use bybuilding codes. This led many admixture man-ufacturers to develop non-chloride, non-corro-sive set accelerating admixtures in the 1970sand 80s.DARASET® 400 is a new non-chloride ac-

celerating liquid admixture developed by

Grace Construction Products. DARASET®400 meets ASTM C494, Type C; is non-cor-rosive; and contains no calcium chloride. It isdesigned to be used wherever the setting timeor early strength development of concrete isrequired. It is non-corrosive to reinforcingsteel, metal decking, and other embeddedmetals in concrete.DARASET® 400 can be used at addition

rates between 650 to 4000 mL/100kg (10 to60 oz/cwt) of cement depending upon the am-bient and concrete temperature, cement fac-tor, and jobsite conditions. Higher dosage ratesmay be used for selected applications such asfreeze protection, but you should consult withyour local Grace sales representative beforestarting work.DARASET® 400 accelerates the chemical

reaction between Portland cement and water.It speeds the formation of calcium silicate hy-drate (C-S-H) gel—the “glue” in cement pastethat holds concrete aggregates together. Ac-celerated CSH gel formation in turn shortensthe setting time of the concrete, compensatesfor the set-slowing effects of cold weather, andcontributes to the development of higher earlystrengths. Like all accelerating admixtures, theperformance of DARASET® 400 can be ce-ment specific, therefore, it is recommendedthat tests be made with the plant materialsprior to construction to confirm the level ofperformance.DARASET® 400 is compatible with most

admixtures as long as they are added separatelyto the concrete mix. It should normally beadded near the end of the batch sequence foroptimum performance. See Grace TechnicalBulletin TB-0110, Admixture Dispenser Dis-

charge Line Location and Sequencing forConcrete Batching Operations for further rec-ommendations.Grace’s technical bulletins, MSDS, and

product datasheets are available atwww.na.graceconstruction.com or call theNorth American Customer Service at 1-877-4AD-MIX1 (1-877-423-6491).

Set Accelerating Chemical AdmixturesBy David Kline, Atlantic Sales Tec,Grace Construction Products

There was an excellent slate ofcandidates for this year’s AtlanticConcrete Association MemorialScholarships and itwas a challengefor the selection committee tochoose the deserving winners.Congratulations go toDanielleVanZutphen from Port Hood, CapeBreton,NovaScotia and toVictoriaHynes from Dunville, Newfound-land & Labrador.Danielle was an honours with

distinction student who was onDalbrae Academy’s Robotic Teamwhich placed third at the interna-tional level. Shewas also amemberof her school’s Grad Committee.Shewas heavily involved in her

community and served as a parishreader, a development volunteer,was amember of her local 4-Hcluband played on the minor hockeyteam.Shewonour judges overwithher outstanding essay about con-crete bridges. She was sponsoredby Ideal Concrete and is now en-rolled at Dalhousie University tak-ing a Bachelor of Engineering.Victoria was also an outstand-

ing student with marks in the 90’s.

She attendedLavalHighSchool andwas also an athlete; playing on thegirls senior basketball team and thesoccer team. She was a spirit groupmember, a tutor, the coordinator forboth theOperationChristmasChildprogram and the Taking ActionGlobally at her school. Somehowshealso found time to be on the schoolwellness team, attend the provincialstudent leadership conference andbe amember of theArmy of Pink.She didn’t rest outside of school

hours either. She was a Sparkles ofHope campaign volunteer, raisedover $15,000 for a school in AfricaforWorldVisionCanada;was aChil-dren’sWish Foundation volunteer, aRice Day coordinator, a FreedomProgram participant and a memberof the community Mental HealthandAwareness committee. Not sur-prisingly her essay was also superb.She wrote about the importance ofConcrete and the positive impact ithas on our world. Victoria was spon-sored by Argentia Ready Mix and isnowenrolled atMemorialUniversitytaking Nursing.

Hynes, Van Zutphen Receive ’10ACA Memorial Scholarships

Danielle VanZutphen, 2010ACAMemorial Scholarship Winner(Submitted photos.)

Victoria Hynes, 2010 ACA Me-morial Scholarship Winner

Truckers Associationof Nova Scotia (TANS)

Contact Information: PO Box 1527 Truro, NS, B2N5V2Phone: (902) 895.7447 • Fax: (902) 897.0487 • Toll Free 1.800.232.6631

email: contract@tans.ca • website: www.tans.ca

TANS is over 600 members strong, covering all of NS.Our Members have over 2000 trucks and all types of excavating

equipment available for hire, throughout the province.

7ACA’s READY MIX NEWS | WINTER 2010

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Residents of the largest town ineastern Prince Edward Island arenow enjoying a new state-of the-

art wellness centre that is rapidly be-coming a social centre forMontague andsurrounding area.“Concrete is obviously the base on

the floor of the arena and that’s prettystandard,” said Douglas Coles of ColesAssociates, who designed theCavendishFarms Wellness Centre. Pre-Cast con-crete was used for the walls.MacLean’s ReadyMix and Trucking

provided the concrete. Doug MacLeansaid they used 1000metres. “Weused 25MPA concrete and the BASF 30-30–with plasticizer—for all the floors.“McLean’s Construction was the

general contractor,” he added. “Just a co-incidence about our names—and every-thing was on schedule.”The the $6,739,482 wellness centre

hosted the wrestling competition for the2009 Canada Summer Games and isnow into its second winter season. Thefacility replaced Iceland Arena, whichwas over 40 years old, and has since beendemolished.The 43,670 square foot complex in-

cludes a 520-seat regulation size arenaplus 46 seats in a heated room overlook-ing the ice surface; four men’s and two

women’s dressing rooms; communityspace, meeting rooms, offices, kitchenfacilities, two indoor walking tracks and alarge lobby. The new 3,000 square footlibrary includes space for literary activi-ties and recreation and is six times thesize of the former library located at thetown hall.The centre is located on Wood Is-

lands Hill, adjacent to the town’s newhigh school, which accepted its first classin September.Cavendish Farms, part of the Irving

owned group of companies and thelargest private sector employer in theprovince, gave a large donation to theproject.

Concrete plays big role inMontague Wellness CentreBy ANDY WALKER

The state-of the-art Cavendish FarmsWellness Centre in Montague, Prince Edward Island.(Photo from: www.cavendishwellnesscentre.ca)

The ‘warm room’ at theCavendish FarmsWell-ness Centre allows the public to watch a hockeygame without getting cold. (Photo from:www.cavendishwellnesscentre.ca)

8 WINTER 2010 | ACA’s READY MIX NEWS

A C A P R O V I N C I A L B R E A K D O W N

Location Members Plants Non-Members Plants Associates Communities Producers Plantswith Members as Members (%) as Members (%)

NS 15 42 3 3 52 30 83.3 93.3

NB 16 37 7 7 30 27 70.0 84.1

PE 3 7 3 4 4 5 50.0 63.6

NL 22 26 11 11 16 19 67.0 70.3

AB 1

ON 6

QC 11

USA 2

TOTAL 56 112 24 25 122 82 70.0 81.8

NOVA SCOTIA (52)Aberdeen Paving Limited 03ADI LimitedAggregate Equipment (Atlantic) Limited 07Albany Cartage Co. Ltd.All Weigh Systems Inc.AMEC Earth & Environmental Ltd.Arrow Construction ProductsAtlantic Tractors & Equipment Ltd.Bird Construction Inc. 05Bird-Stairs Ltd.Cement Association of Canada *Commercial Safety College 06Construction Association of Nova Scotia *Credifax Atlantic Limited * 99Dora Construction Limited 04Euclid Admixtures Canada Inc.GCR Tire CentresGallant Aggregates Ltd.Grace Canada Inc.Holcim Canada Inc.Jetco Contracting Inc. 09J.W. Bird & Company LimitedJ.W. Lindsay Enterprises Limited 02Landscape NS Horticultural Trades Association * 03Lafarge Canada Inc.Langley Concrete & Materials Technology Inc. H 01Lockhart Truck Center 04Maritime Fence 08Maritime Testing (1985) Limited 03Miller Tire 10Norman F.MacLeod, P. Eng. H 03MacKay's (Volvo) Truck & Trailer Center Limited 00Merit Contractors Association of Nova Scotia * 02Nova Scotia Home Builders' Assoc. *Nova Scotia Power IncOrmac Industrial Supply Inc. 04Parts for Trucks Inc.Pinnacle Agencies Ltd.Precision Concrete Services Ltd.Richard Nicolle Photograpy 10RST IndustriesS.W.Weeks Construction Ltd.Shaw ResourcesStantec Consulting LimitedStanhope Simpson Insurance Ltd.Top Construction Limited 01Truckers Association of Nova Scotia *TrueFoam LimitedUrquhart-MacDonald & AssociatesWallace Equipment Ltd.Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC

NEW BRUNSWICK (30)ADI Limited 03All Weigh Systems Inc.Arrow Construction ProductsAtlantic Underground ServicesBird Construction Inc.Bird-Stairs Ltd.Cement & Albany Cartage Co. Ltd.Component, Repair & Supply 10Conquest Engineering Ltd. 03Cement & Concrete Studies Ltd. H 03Construction Association of New Brunswick *Fundy Engineering & Consulting 10Gemtec LimitedHolcim Canada Inc.J.W. Bird & Company LimitedLafarge Canada Inc.Holcim Canada Inc.Stanhope Simpson Insurance Ltd.TrueFoam LimitedWallace Equipment Ltd.New Brunswick Power 04Ormac Industrial Supply Inc. 04Parts for TrucksPinnacle Agencies Ltd.R.E. & J.E. Friars Ltd., a Division of RST Industries

A C A A S S O C I A T E M E M B E R L O C A T I O N S Y T D 2 0 1 0

NOVA SCOTIA COMPANY

Aberdeen Quality Concrete AberdeenAmherst Casey Concrete LimitedAntigonish Casey Concrete LimitedAntigonish Quality Concrete AntigonishAuld's Cove Quality Concrete Auld's CoveBedford 08 Casey -MetroBedford OSCO - Bedford RMBedford Quality ConcreteBridgetown V.J. Rice Concrete LimitedBridgewater 97 Bridgewater Ready Mix (1966)Bridgewater South Shore Ready Mix Ltd.Chester South Shore Ready Mix Ltd.Church Point/Concession 93 Spec ResourcesDartmouth Ocean ContractorsDartmouth Quality ConcreteDigby V.J. Rice Concrete LimitedDigby Portable Gullivers Cove V.J. Rice Concrete LimitedElmsdale ** Mobile Ready Mix Ltd. (Quality)Glenholme 93 OSCO - Glenholme RMHalifax Ocean ContractorsHalifax Quality Concrete LimitedKentville 10 A-1 Ready Mix Ltd.Kentville Quality Concrete KentvilleKentville V.J. Rice Concrete LimitedLower Sackville OSCO - Sackville RMMilford Casey Concrete LimitedNew Glasgow/Trenton Casey Concrete LimitedNew Glasgow/Trenton 94 Keltic Concrete Ltd.New Minas Quality Concrete LimitedNuttby Mountain Ideal Concrete Ltd.Point Tupper Ideal Concrete Ltd.Sheet Harbour/Watts Section Tri-Star Concrete Services LimitedShelburne Harlow Construction Ltd.Springhill Lafarge CanadaSydney Municipal Ready Mix LimitedSydney Quality Concrete SydneyTruro Casey Concrete LimitedTruro Lafarge CanadaWallace 99 Rte. 6 Ready Mix Ltd.Whycocomagh Ideal Concrete Ltd.Windsor OSCO - Annapolis Valley RMYarmouth Lafarge Canada

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND COMPANY

Charlottetown/Bunbury C.R.M. Ready Mix LimitedCharlottetown 94 Schurman Concrete LimitedMontague/Victoria Cross MacLean's Ready Mix ConcreteSouris ** MacLean's Ready Mix ConcreteSpringfield West ** Quality Concrete Springfield WestSummerside C.R.M. SummersideSummerside Schurman Concrete Limited

NEW BRUNSWICK COMPANY

Belledune Blanchard Ready Mix LimitedBloomfield ** Valley ConcreteCampbellton/Tidehead Béton Brunswick Ltée.Cap Pelé Casey Concrete LimitedDarlington Béton Brunswick Ltée.Dunlop/Bathurst 92 Blanchard Ready Mix LimitedEdmundston/St. Jacques Béton Brunswick Ltée.Florenceville New Concrete Products Ltd.Fredericton Econocrete Ready Mix Ltd.Fredericton Lafarge CanadaFredericton/Noonan 02 Mira Construction Ltd.Fredericton 94 Northside Ready Mix Ltd.Grand-Anse 02 Chaleur Ready-Mix Ltée.Grand Falls Béton Brunswick Ltée.Lamèque 92 Lamèque Ready Mix Ltée.Miramichi Lafarge CanadaMiramichi Newcastle Ready Mix LimitedMoncton Casey Concrete LimitedMoncton LafargeMoncton Quality Concrete MonctonMoncton Strescon LimitedNackawic New Concrete Products Ltd.

Listing Index92 - indicates new members in 1992 = 593 - indicates new members in 1993 = 794 - indicates new members in 1994 = 495 - indicates new members in 1995 = 396 - indicates new members in 1996 = 497 - indicates new members in 1997 = 598 - indicates new members in 1998 = 299 - indicates new members in 1999 = 100 - indicates new members in 2000 = 501 - indicates new members in 2001 = 202 - indicates new members in 2002 = 303 - indicates new members in 2003 = 204 - indicates new members in 2004 = 105 - indicates new members in 2005 = 406 - indicates new members in 2006 = 107 - indicates new members in 2007 = 008 - indicates new members in 2008 = 209 - indicates new members in 2009 = 110 - indicates new members in 2010 = 3

** - plants noted with a double asterisk are owned by mem-bers but are not currently certified.

M E M B E R P L A N T S & L O C A T I O N S Y T D 2 0 1 0Road Builders & Heavy Construction Association of New Brunswick * 08Stantec Consulting LimitedStanhope Simpson Insurance Ltd.Titan Separation Technologies Inc., LLC / ProAsh® 04TrueFoam LimitedWallace Equipment Ltd.

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR (16)A-1 Concrete Foundations 1991 Ltd. 05AMEC Earth & Environmental Ltd.Arrow Construction ProductsBird-Stairs Ltd.City Tire & Auto Centre Ltd. 10Hi-Tech Scales Ltd. 99Holcim Canada Inc.J.W. Bird & Company LimitedLafarge Canada Inc.Merit Contractors Assn. of Nfld. & Labrador Inc. * 02Newfoundland Styro Inc. 01Parts For TrucksPinnacle Agencies Ltd.Stantec Consulting LimitedTrimac Transportation Services, L.P.William Perry Trucking 10

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (4)Construction Association of Prince Edward Island *Fundy Engineering & Consulting 10Parts For TrucksStantec Consulting Limited

ALBERTA (1)Cementec Industries Inc. 08

ONTARIO (6)BASF,The Chemical Company - Admixture DivisionCement Association of Canada *London Machinery Ltd.Grace Canada Inc.MPAQAutomation Inc. 02Propex Concrete Systems 09

QUEBEC (11)Action Machineries Inc. (Div. London Machinery Inc.)Assn of Canadian Industries Recycling Coal Ash * 03BMH Systems Inc.Ciment Quebec Inc. (CQI) 10Euclid Admixtures Canada Inc.Grace Canada Inc.Holcim Canada Inc.Lafarge Canada Inc.Road King Technologies Inc. 09Simard Suspensions Inc. 10Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC

USA (2)Titan Separation Technologies Inc., LLC / ProAsh® 04Command Alkon 07

NS 52NB 30NL 16PE 4AB 1ON 6QC 11USA 2Total 122Numbers in Columns C & G, i.e. 99, 01, 08, indicate new members in that year.Total of 80 Associates with over 100 locations in Atlantic CanadaH indicates Honourary Life Membership with APRMCA* indicates Reciprocal Membership with APRMCA01 indicates new members in 200102 indicates new members in 200203 indicates new members in 200304 indicates new members in 200405 indicates new members in 200506 indicates new members in 200607 indicates new members in 2007

Oromocto Lafarge CanadaQuispamsis 06 Valley Concrete Inc.Rexton Warren Ready Mix LimitedSaint John ** Béton Brunswick Ltée.Saint John LafargeSaint John Strescon LimitedSt. François Béton Nouveau Ltée.St. George/Leonardville 96 Fundy Contractors Ltd.St. Isidore St. Isidore Ready Mix LimitedSt. Quentin Béton Nouveau Ltée.St. Stephen 96 Southwest Concrete & ConstructionSte Marie de Kent 08 Casey Concrete LimitedSussex Lafarge CanadaWoodstock 97 Timothy Cook ConstructionWoodstock New Concrete Products Ltd.

NEWFOUNDLAND COMPANY

Baie Verte 10 Barker's ConstructionBay Roberts Dawe's Concrete Products Ltd.Barachois Brook Johnson's Construction Ltd.Corner Brook Atlantic Ready Mix LimitedDunville, P. Bay/Argentia 97 Argentia Ready Mix LimitedForteau 97 C & T Enterprises Ltd.Foxtrap, Conception Bay South Mac-Mix Concrete Ltd.Goose Bay Labrador ConstructionGoose Bay 05 RSM Municipal Inc.Grand Falls/Windsor 92 Hunt's Concrete Supplies Ltd.Grand Falls/Windsor Penney Ready MixLewisporte Central Ready MixMarystown 97 Peninsula Ready MixMarystown 98 Cluett's Constr. & Ready Mix Ltd.Placentia 09 Provincial Ready MixNorthwest Brook/Clarenville 93 Fortis Concrete Inc.Port Hope Simpson C & T Enterprises Ltd.Spaniard's Bay 94 Murrinco Ready MixStephenville 92 Bay St. George Ready MixSt. Anthony 09 Hutchings Concrete IncSt. John's 0 3 Cabot Ready Mix LimitedSt. John's Capital Ready Mix LimitedSt. John's Concrete Products 2001 LimitedSt. Paul's 09 Hutchings Concrete IncWabush 10 H&H EnterprisesWabush New Concrete Products

2 November 2010 | THE AC&TJ | Construction

They have been standard fare on highwaysadjacent to largeurbanareas acrossNorthAmer-ica but the first Durisol sound absorptive noisebarrier system is nowunder construction inAt-lantic Canada.“Themajor population centres in the region

are growing steadily, so Iwould expect this is thefirst of a number wewill see,” said Robert Sams,ArmtecDirector of Sales for theEasternRegion.His company supplied thebarrier nowunder

construction on the Vanier Highway betweenKimble Drive and Regent Street (near Frederic-ton, New Brunswick). Sams explained there is aresidential neighborhood adjacent to the high-way, and additional development is planned forthe immediate area.SpringhillConstructionLtd. is the contractor

for the project, with ADI Limited as consultant.The contract calls for construction of an earthberm and 1,313 linearmetres of a three-metre-high noise barrier wall.The barrier is precast and designed in-house.

Sams saidhis companyoffers anumberof styles,so any subsequentwalls built throughout the re-gion could look slightly different. He said 0.4kilometres of the project were completed before

the snow flew this year,with the remainder to befinished by June of 2011.A news release from the company indicates

Armtec worked with the NB Department ofTransportation as a consultant to develop plansand specifications for the system. Sams said thesystemhas been approved by the transportationdepartments throughout the country and hasbeen used for over 30 years.The precast system is sound absorptive on

both sides, eliminating the reflection of com-munity noise on the residential side, and ab-sorbing up to 80% of traffic noise on thehighway side.Armtecwas responsible for the en-gineering and structural designof thenoise bar-rier wall. It also developed complete shopdrawings for the contractor andprovided site in-spection services throughout construction.The Department of Transportation selected

a color coating tomatch thepanels on the galva-nizedposts, and an ashlar stone finish to face thehighway.The Durisol Noise Barrier System is essen-

tially a post and panel system.Vertical posts areanchored to the ground using caissons, drivenpiles, poured footings or structures. All panelsspan horizontally between the posts and rest di-rectly on the footings.Wall heights over 35 feet

have been constructed.TheDurisolNoise barrier System is designed

to meet all Provincial Highway Bridge DesignCodes, All Testing for structural integrity,acoustic performance,durability, (such as freeze-thaw, salt scaling, weatherometer and fire), areperformed on a regular basis.

“Armtec has been at the forefront of NorthAmerica’s most innovative infrastructureprojects for decades,” the press release noted.“The company takes pride in consistentlyproducing high-quality and high-perfor-mance components and offering completesupport services.”

By ANDY WALKER

First noise barrier system in region now under construction

[NewGlasgow,NS]—Just over half ofWork-ers Compensation Board-covered employers inNova Scotia will see their rates for workplace in-jury insurance decrease or hold steady next year,theWCB announced this week (Sept. 22).Meanwhile, the number of employers receiv-

ing rate surcharges based on their claims costs isincreasing by about 16 per cent over last year.

“These numbers indicate that on the whole,we’re seeing pockets of improvement in thesymptomsofNovaScotia’sworkplace injury epi-demic,” said compensation board CEO NancyMacCready-Williams. “Still, we are far from acure. There are too many clear instances of in-jury’s human and financial impact, and there isstill real need for improvement.”Rates are decreasing or holding steady for 52

percentof employers,while48percentwill seean

increase.Theaverage rateof $2.65per$100of as-sessable payroll, remains unchanged. Rates arebased on the overall claims cost in an industry,combined with a firm’s own experience. Theyrange froma lowof $0.60 to a high of $10.15 per$100 of payroll in 2011.Ninety-twoemployerswill receive a surcharge

in 2011, up from 79 in 2010. Surcharges help tomore fairly allocate the costs of Nova Scotia’sworkplace injury, and they provide strong en-

couragement for employers to make improve-ments in their safety and return-to-work per-formance.To be surcharged, an employer’s claims costs

must be at least three times their industry aver-age for at least four consecutive years. Surchargesare cumulative and can add an additional 20 percent to a firm’s base rate each year.A list of the employerswhowill be surcharged

is available at www.wcb.ns.ca.

The New Glasgow Daily News

Compensation board expects premiums to remain steady

A Durisol Noise Barrier System is being erected in New Brunswick.

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3Construction | THE AC&TJ | November 2010

The Atlantic Construction & Transportation Journal is published quarterly by Transcontinental Specialty Publications/Holiday Media (Atlantic Region),a division of Transcontinental Media Inc. The opinions expressed in the Atlantic Construction & Transportation Journal are those of the authors anddo not represent the official views of Transcontinental Specialty Publications/Holiday Media or its management. The Atlantic Construction &Transportation Journal and its contributors can accept no legal responsibility for loss through any error in information contained herein. Contentsof the Atlantic Construction & Transportation Journal may not be reproduced without written consent of the publisher, who accepts no responsibil-ity for unsolicited manuscripts, transparencies and other material. The publisher is not responsible for statements or claims by advertisers.

Mailed under Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064924

Transcontinental Specialty PublicationsPublished by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transcontinental Inc.Produced by . . . . . . . . Transcontinental Specialty Publications/Holiday MediaVice President Local Community Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stephane GagnePublisher/General Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeff NearingACTJ Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heather JonesSales Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Henry FlowersSales Executive . . . . . . . . . . . .Scott Higgins (scott.higgins@transcontinental.ca)ACTJ Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dave Schaffner

The Atlantic Construction & Transportation Journal1888 Brunswick Street, Suite 609, Halifax, NS, B3J 3J8Phone: (902) 468-8027 Fax: (902) 468-2425Return undeliverable addresses to:Transcontinental Specialty Publications/Holiday Media1888 Brunswick Street, Suite 609, Halifax, NS, B3J 3J8Publications Mail Reg # 7145

www.transcontinental-media.com

ACTJ Traffic Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Camille MacPhail

Work continued on the Saint John Harbour Bridge throughout the summer and fall. (Photo: Jamie Roach)

ON IT GOES — Construction crews were hard at work on this structure in late October, one of seven new com-

mercial buildings that set up shop in Gander, Newfoundland in 2010. While the number of new residential

units in the town decreased 13 per cent from Jan. 1-Sept. 30—from 97 in 2009 to 84 in 2010—commercial

buildings were up 43 per cent this year. The value of all commercial permits in Gander has doubled since last

year’s statistics. (Photo: Andrea Gunn /The Beacon)

Crews work on the roof of the Municipality of Digby building in October. The municipality received $190,000

from ecoNova Scotia for energy efficient upgrades, including: geothermal in-floor heat, energy efficient win-

dows, standard insulation and vapor barrier, low flow toilets, light tubes that provide natural light in the inte-

rior parts of the building and smart lighting options. The project cost $505,238. (Photo: Leanne Delong/The

Digby Courier)

Thirteen tools were stolen from a Habitat for Humanity work site in Summerside, Prince Edward Island in Au-

gust. Valued at about $1,500 the tools were needed for a job in Kensington scheduled to begin Sept. 18.

Some tools, that had been purchased innocently, were returned. Although several PEI businesses provided new

tools and a woman donated $1,000, the organization was missing five specialized tools needed to build

houses. But when Bosch Tools learned about the problem, the company made a donation that replaced all the

stolen items with new tools. In the photo Habitat for Humanity's marketing and volunteer coordinator Justin

Hughes and restore manager Mario Zambonin hold several tools that were stolen from the business and re-

turned. (Photo: The Guardian)

November 2010| THE AC&TJ | Construction44

There was traffic on the roundabout inO’Leary, Prince Edward Island Oct. 29 after an11-day shutdown necessary for concrete andpaving work to be completed.The $1-million Build PEI Project, at the in-

tersection of Route 2 andO’Leary Road, beganin August.The myth that Islanders are not able to

mergewas dispelled June 23when theCharlot-tetownRoundabout opened atMount EdwardRoad and Allen Street.TheGuardian reported therewas some con-

fusion at the offset but thatmost drivers had noproblems with the traffic circle.Drivers are supposed to yield when they

enter a roundabout, then they have the right ofway.Statistics show roundabouts “are signifi-

cantly safer than traditional intersection/inter-change systems,” Nova Scotia senior highwaydesign engineer Keith Boddy told a NorthwestCommunity Council meeting in MiddleSackville this spring.He assured themeeting that the new round-

about in Middle Sackville would not be any-thing like theMicMac Rotary.”’There are seven of these style interchanges

going forward (in Nova Scotia) this year,”’Boddy said in the Halifax NewsNet. “’It is seenas one of the safest types of intersections/inter-changes in the world.”’The roundabout, located at Sackville Drive

and Margeson Drive, should be ready by theend of the year. Boddy said, ’”The Interchangeto Trunk 1 has to be completed by November.Asphalt has to be down. The (entire) projecthas to be done beforeMarch 31 or we don’t getfederal funding.”’Construction on the roundabout in New

Minas,NS that will connect Commercial Streetand the realigned Granite Drive should be fin-ished by the end of November.Dexter Construction was awarded the ten-

der for the $2,521,600 project.Department of Transportation and Infra-

structure Renewal project engineer JeremyKel-land toldTheKingsCountyAdvertiser/Registerthe contract stipulated that two-way traffic bemaintained during construction.But therewasalso a provision for work to be conducted atnight.The New Minas roundabout is part of a

larger project. By 2013-14 Granite Drive willconnect with a Highway 101 interchange.

Roundabouts

Raging floodwaters weakened a concrete support column underneath the bridge on Route 3 in Tusket, Nova Scotiaon Nov. 9 and a large span of the bridge was swept into the Tusket River. It wasn’t the only casualty of the no-namestorm that arrived Nov. 5 bringing over 200 mm of rain to Southwestern Nova Scotia in three-and-a-half days. Asmaller bridge on the Saunders Road in Deerfield, Yarmouth County gave way on Nov. 7. (Photo: Tina Comeau/TheVanguard)

Advanced Glazings Ltd. of Sydney, NovaScotia has received the 2010 Crystal Achieve-ment Award for “Most Innovative Energy-Ef-ficient Glass Product.”Selected by a panel of esteemed judges rep-

resenting all segments of the industry, theawards recognize the best products and glassapplications the commercial, retail and fabri-cation markets have to offer.Advanced Glazings commercialized Soler-

aTM in 2001, with its primary market incommercial new construction.After extensiveresearch, development and testing, Sol-era+Nanogel was launched at Greenbuild in

November 2009.The product consists of a transparent hon-

eycomb structure incorporating Cabot’sNanogel aerogel. Each aerogel particle con-sists largely of air contained in a nanostruc-ture with pore sizes less than the mean freepath of air molecules, which severely inhibitsheat transfer through the material, enablingworld-class performance.Solera+Nanogel was named the “Top

Product 2009” by Architectural Record. Anumber of high profile global projects havespecified Solera+Nanogel as a core compo-nent of their building envelope.

2010 Crystal Achievement Award

4597740

Saint JohnConstruction Association

263 Germain Street 1-506-634-1747 (T)Saint John, N.B. 1-506-658-0651 (F)E2L 2G7 sjca@nbnet.nb.ca (e-mail)

Executive Director Director of Labour RelationsPatrick D. Darrah Stephen Beatteay

0000

000

The Construction Association of Nova Scotiais hosting theConstruction andMaintenance 3rdannual Regulatory Change Industry Briefing onJan.25-26,2011 at theDartmouthHoliday Inn.ActingDeputyMinister of Labour andWork-

forceDevelopment Jeff Conradandofficials fromthe NS Departments of Energy, Environment &

Efficiency are slated to be in attendance.Energy initiatives and regulations, fuel safety,

building codes and cranes are some of the topicson the agenda.Registration forms can be downloaded at:

www.cans.ns.caandwww.gov.ns.ca/construction-portal.

Regulatory Change Industry Briefing

Dalhousie Correctional Ctr. | Construction | THE AC&TJ | November 2010 55

New Dalhousie CorrectionalCentre to open next spring

By the time the winter snow gives way tothe promise of spring, construction of a $16.3million correctional centre in the northernNew Brunswick community of Dalhousie willbe virtually complete.The fifth and phase of the project began

this June, and is expected to take approxi-mately a year. Maxim 2000 Inc. is the generalcontractor on the project and companyspokesman John Sherwood said the job ispreceding on schedule.“We have about 60 people on site right

now and our workforce will probably be closeto that until we finish,” Sherwood said. “Thishas been a fairly major contract for us.”LCL Excavation looked after the first two

phases, namely the installation of civic serv-ices and site preparation work. Pomerleau Incbuilt the foundation while Design Built Me-chanical installed the structural steel. JDAAr-chitects of Halifax were the prime architectsfor the project assisted by Jacques BoucherArchitects.The facility, located on Miller Boulevard,

will be 3,857 square metres (41,501 sq. ft.) insize, and includes five accommodation units,each containing 10 cells. Other areas will in-clude admitting and discharge, medical serv-ices, program rooms, secure visitation, foodservices, and facilities for administration andstaff. It will have 50 beds compared to 30 at

the correctional centre it will be replacing. Itwill have a permanent staff of 47.Sherwood said construction will be able to

take place throughout the winter, as the build-ing was virtually all closed in bymid-Novem-ber. He said building a prison is somewhatdifferent than a conventional building, sincethe concrete, water and sewer and electricityhas to be done individually for each cell.“It does take a little more time than a con-

ventional building,”he said.“However, we didhave some experience since this building issimilar to one we did inYarmouth (Nova Sco-tia) a couple of years ago.”Luc Levesque of LCL Excavation said the

site preparation work went relativelysmoothly. He added “it was relatively rou-tine.” He said it was nice to work on a majorproject close to his company headquarters inCharlo.The correctional centre was designed to

achieve a silver rating under the principles ofLEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environ-mental Design), and will be registered withthe Canada Green Buildings Council. The fa-cility has been designed to maximize energyefficiency and minimize water use.It is constructed with environmentally

friendly building materials, and waste gener-ated during the construction period is beingstrictly managed. A recycling program willalso be put in place once the centre is opera-tional.

By ANDY WALKER

DALHOUSIE CORRECTIONAL CENTRE

Construction on the $16.3 million Dalhousie Correctional Centre in Dalhousie, New Brunswick should be finished next June. Maxim 2000 Inc. spokesman John Sherwood said building a prison is somewhat different than a conventionalbuilding, since the concrete, water and sewer and electricity has to be done individually for each cell. (Photo: Supply and Services New Brunswick)

We are proud to have lent our expertisefor the construction of the DalhousieCorrectional Centre in Dalhousie,NB.

SERVICES PROVIDED FOR THIS PROJECT:• Structural steel • Misc. steel fabrication: Beds, shelves, lintels,stairs, cuff restraints, etc… • Plumbing and heating including

geothermal system • Electrical and security systems

Telephone: 506.684.2765 • Fax: 506.684.4538 • www.dbminc.ca

Design Built Mechanical Inc.168 Craig St. / P.O. Box 2006

Charlo,N.B. E8E 2W8

6 November 2010 | THE AC&TJ | Construction

The Association of Consulting EngineeringCompanies - Canada (ACEC) awarded theBeaubienAward toAndrewSteeves,P.Eng,Strate-gic Senior Advisor for ADI Limited onOct. 26 inOttawa.TheawardisgivenbyACECtoindividualswho

have demonstrated exceptional service to the as-sociation and who have contributed to the ad-vancement of consulting engineering throughprofessional accomplishments.Steeves is past-chair of ACEC and a winner of

the ACEC Chairman's Award for his efforts pro-

moting Qualifications-Based Selection. He cur-rently serves as vice president of the FrederictonChamberofCommerce,andisalsopast-presidentof the Association of Consulting EngineeringCompanies - New Brunswick. Over recent years,he has been involved in FIDIC (the internationalassociationforconsultingengineers) servingasco-chair of the 2008 FIDIC Conference in QuebecCityandhasservedonnumerousprofessionalandcommunity boards including theGreater Freder-icton Airport Authority, and the Advisory Boardfor Faculty of BusinessAdministration,UNB.

Excellence in engineering

Themain bridge inTroutywas one of the ca-sualties when Hurricane Igor slammed intosouthern and eastern Newfoundland Sept. 21.The storm unleashed over 200 mm of rain inless than 24 hours—135mm fell in the Bonav-ista Peninsula in a five-hour period.Thirty communities declared states of emer-

gency and up to 50 were completely isolatedafter the hurricane flooded basements, downedtrees and washed out roads and bridges. Up-wards of 50,000 people were without electricityas winds reached 150 km/hr.Operation Lama was launched Sept. 23 and

over 1,000 members of the air, land and mar-itime components of the Canadian Forces

headed to NL.The following day, 123 people and a convoy

of military vehicles fromCanadian Forces BaseGagetown disembarked from the MV Josephand Clara Smallwood in Argentia. One of theirresponsibilities was to assemble a MediumGirder Bridge to reconnect Trouty with the restof the province.WhenOperationLama concludedOct.6, the

Canadian Forces had constructed three tempo-rary bridges, surveyed and checked over 900kilometres of highway. CF members had as-sisted over 40 communities transporting food,water, fuel, equipment and supplies by air, landand sea.

Hurricane IgorSapper Nathan Miller and Sapper Delroy Woodham from 4 Engineer Support Regiment, place the centre boltinto the sway braces. (Photos: MCpl Angela Abbey, Canadian Forces Combat Camera © 2010 DND-MDNCanada)

The small community of Trouty, Newfoundland and Labrador lost its bridge in Hurricane Igor. Engineers from 4Engineer Support Regiment, Gagetown, New Brunswick and 56 Engineer Squadron from St. John's, NL were inTrouty as part of Operation Lama to assemble a Medium Girder Bridge.

Corporal Bryan Connors steadies a panel.

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Construction | THE AC&TJ | November 2010 77

“So fewwomenwork in the trades and tech-nology field,” says Catherine Ronahan, withTrade HERizons.“About 25 per cent of (PrinceEdward) Island IT workers and less than twopercent of tradesworkers arewomen.These aredesirable jobs that paywell, andwehelpwomentake steps to access to these opportunities.”Trade HERizons is a program that encour-

ages women to consider a career in trades ortechnology. It includes a 14-week career explo-ration and college prep training program, on-going wrap-around support to participants,helpwith applying forHollandCollege trainingand assistance with finding a job after formaltraining is complete.During the 14-week training program,activ-

ities include:• learning about trades, technology and bio-science programs

• visiting work sites and college classrooms• writing resumés and cover letters• creating a portfolio of past work and per-sonal accomplishments

• researching the labour market to determinewhich trade to pursue.After completing the 14-weekprogram,proj-

ect staff continues to support participants asthey complete college training and connectwithemployers. Support includes:• referrals to community resources that canprovide help with child care and living ex-penses

• help with college and loan applications• support with learning disabilities• help dealingwith barriers such as finding af-fordable housing or transportation

• arranging meetings with educators and po-tential employers.Another component of TradeHERizons is

employer andmentorship outreach. This is de-signed to increase women’s access to employ-ment in non-traditional trades and technologyby building positive relationships between em-

ployers, mentors and women interested in thevarious trades and technology sectors.BUILDINGCONFIDENCE“During our first program, one woman was

interested in the IT field but was not confidentthat she was smart enough to do the job,” saysCatherine. “We arranged a meeting with an ITemployer who addressed her concerns and as-sured her that she could do the job.He also toldher about opportunities to work from home,which is important because she has small chil-dren. He alleviated her fears and gave her theconfidence to believe she could do it.”Participants in the first session of Trade

HERizons have gone on to pursue careers inWelding,Plumbing,Carpentry,Bioscience,Cor-rections, and Information Technology. Five ofthe 11participants spent the summerupgradingtheirmath skills before taking aprogramatHol-landCollege.“Lack of confidence inmath skillswas often the biggest personal barrier to thewomenwanting to pursue a career in a non-tra-ditional occupation,” says Catherine.PROGRAMPARTICIPANTMAKESCAREERCHANGEShasta Brennan is a Red Seal Chef who de-

cided to enterTradeHERizons to change careersand become a carpenter. Her husband is also aRed Seal Chef.“I enjoyed being aChef, but aftermydaughterwas born,we found that it is not anoccupation that we could both do,” says Shasta.“I already had some experiencewith carpen-

try. My parents were landlords, so I had donepainting, wallpapering, and repairs. And myhusband and I have renovated houses together.“Carpentry has somany aspects.You can do

renovations, build new, work on residential orcommercial buildings, or specialize in a partic-ular aspect such asmasonry. It is a starting pointfor other trades as well.“I always liked the idea of carpentry,but Iwas

afraid I couldn’t do the math. When I was inschool, I found that if I didn’t grasp amath con-cept, there was no opportunity to get the help Ineeded, and I fell further behinduntil I gave up.

Through themathupgrading I received atTradeHERizons, I learned the type of math I neededfor carpentry.Two teacherswere available to an-swer questions and explain concepts.”This summer, Shasta was hired as a Carpen-

ter’s Helper for the renovation of AndersonHouse in Charlottetown. She stripped wallpa-per, refinished floors, hung drywall and filledseams, and did painting and framing.COLLEGELIFEShasta entered the Holland College Carpen-

try program in September. Trade HERizonshelped her apply for a student loan and applyfor college. She was also given some help toidentify a learning disability. The program hashelped arrange for a tutor and for a computerprogram that will assist with the learning dis-ability.“I am excited to go back to school and toget the support I need,” says Shasta.“This is a time of great change for me. It has

been an adjustment to be separated from mydaughter and finding the right child care for her.And stepping into the role of mom at the endof a long work day is another adjustment I amlearning to deal with.“I am adapting to driving an hour to Sum-

merside for thenine-month carpentry program,but I hope to find someone to car pool with.And I’m finding time for the homework,whichI’m doing for the first time in a long time. But Ilove carpentry and the feeling of accomplish-ment in building something. It is definitelyworth it.”Formore information, call SaraRoach-Lewis

at 368-5040 or e-mail sara@wnpei.org. VisitFacebook and search for Trade HERizons -Women’s Network PEI.(Funded in whole or in part through the

Canada/Prince Edward Island Labour MarketDevelopment Agreement and/or the LabourMarket Agreement and supported by Status ofWomen Canada.)This article was originally published by Em-

ployment Journey; visit www.employmentjour-ney.com/.

By HEIDI RILEY

Women get help to move to careers in trades and technology

With the help of the Trade HERizons program, ShastaBrennan has made a career change from Red Seal Chefto Carpenter.

The nose of an ACROW bridge makes contact on the near shore of the river in Trouty. The semi-permanent ACROW bridge is completed.

Moncton NortheastConstruction Association Inc.

297 Collishaw StreetMoncton, NBE1C 9R2

TEL: (506) 857-4038 FAX: (506) 857-8861

info@mneca.cawww.mneca.ca

Executive DirectorBill Dixon

Office AdministratorNancy McNaught

Plans RoomAssistantJudy Cormier

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88 November 2010 | THE AC&TJ | Transportation

Commercial ferry traffic back to first come, first served

[North Sydney, NS]—Marine Atlantic hassuspended commercial reservations, effectiveNov. 14.According to president and CEO Wayne

Follett, this decision is the result of the corpo-ration’s ongoing issues with reliability of oldervessels, combined with the lack of capacity, re-sulting in significant problems for commercial

customers in recent weeks.As part of its ongoing dialogue with the

commercial trucking industry,MarineAtlanticattended the recent annual general meeting ofthe Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association(APTA) to discuss the issues related to reliabil-ity and capacity of the current fleet.TheAPTA confirmed that the industry was

greatly challenged by the reduced capacitywhile the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwoodwas out of service. The APTA also stated that

there was a strong belief in the commercialtrucking industry that the system should besuspended until the new capacity is in place.Follow-up discussions with the representativesof the APTA and its members further reaf-firmed these findings.“With the recommendation of the APTA

and other industry players, Marine Atlanticwill move to a first come, first served approachuntil the new fleet capacity is available,” saidFollett. “With the peak season behind us, we

can temporarily suspend commercial reserva-tions while we implement additional capacityand improve the commercial reservationprocesses. This is in keeping with the princi-ples of working closely with our stakeholdergroups in the best interests of the majority ofour clients.”Marine Atlantic’s new fleet will come on

stream by early spring 2011. The corporationwill determine later when the commercialreservations system will be reinstated.

By STAFFCape Breton Post

New airline delayed in getting off the ground

The scheduled takeoff of a new re-gional airline has been delayed over apaperwork issue.

Planes under the direction East CoastAirways were supposed to begin transport-ing passengers in and out of five Maritimecommunities on Monday (Nov. 1).“The person that was supposed to be

dealing with our paperwork was called outof the office and unable to sign the paper-work that we needed,” said Sarah MacKin-non, director of public relations and mediaand sales director for the airline.“We still have a charter licence but run-

ning a scheduled route under that is a bit ofa grey area, so (president of operations JayHasson) said ‘I’m just going to play it onthe safe side.’”Paperwork —and not media reports that

circulated last week about Hasson’s finan-cial history in the United States — are thereason for the delay, she insisted.“Unfortunately, there has been a bit of

negativity and then with this delay it lookslike that is tied into it, but it is not. This iscompletely unrelated.”She said the person responsible for the

paperwork issue was called away from theoffice as part of an investigation into aplane crash in Northern Alberta.As for the media reports, she said Has-

son has addressed that “misunderstanding.”“I don’t know why this came up now. He

was involved in other businesses in NovaScotia and nothing was ever looked into or

mentioned.”Because of the delayed startup, passen-

gers who had booked flights for the com-pany’s scheduled first week of operationswere booked to fly on another airline.“We are going to take care of all of our

passengers that were currently booked andmake sure everybody is happy and satisfiedand get them to where they need to go.”East Coast Airways will pay any addi-

tional costs associated with that move.Customers will also be given a free flight

on the airline when it eventually does taketo the air.“We haven’t dealt with the second week

yet because we may get that paperworkcoming through (Monday).”When all paperwork is finalized and the

airline reaches full capacity, MacKinnonsaid it will provide employment to about 68people.“We’ve been getting an excellent re-

sponse out of Sydney (Nova Scotia). Peopleare really excited to have an alternative air-line that they can go to. Actually, we’ve got-ten a good response everywhere. I’mhoping this makes us stronger and better inthe long run.”

Cape Breton Post

By TRANSCONTINENTAL STAFF

The new airline lists five destinations with plans to expand next year into more New Brunswick cities along with theU.S. (Photo: Contributed)

w w w . b i r d s t a i r s . c aPlease contact Bird Stairs for all your construction needs,

we have six convenient locations to serve you better.frederictonSaint John

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9Transportation | THE AC&TJ | November 2010

Scales go high tech[Amherst, NS]—For truck drivers, time

is money and a new system under devel-opment near Amherst (Nova Scotia) isgoing to save them plenty of time.Weigh-in-motion equipment is being

installed on the Trans-Canada Highway atFort Lawrence that will screen the weightand height of commercial vehicles for theprovince's Amherst weight station as theyare on the inbound lands of the highway.Only trucks not in compliance, and

randomly selected vehicles, will be re-quired to report to the weigh station."If this system does what it's supposed

to do I can see it being very beneficial totruckers," Nova Scotia Truckers Associa-tion chair and Amherst area trucker BillDowe said. "Anything that saves time isgoing to be well received by our mem-bers."Dowe has seen similar equipment in

use in Quebec and finds it very efficientfor drivers.When it goes on-line in December, it

will be fourth weigh-in-motion facility inthe province with the others being atAuld's Cove near the Canso Causeway,Enfield and at Kelly Lake.The equipment is being installed by In-

ternational Road Dynamics of Saskatoonwith the $1.018-million price tag beingshared under the Canada-Nova Scotia,Provincial Territorial Base Funding Agree-ment.Dwayne Cross from the Department of

Transportation and Infrastructure Re-newal said the system is beneficial to bothtruckers and weigh scale officials."Basically the way it is now every truck

over 3,500 kilograms has to come to theweigh scale. It's time consuming for thedrivers and the vehicle compliance peopleat the scale houses," Cross said. "The wayit works is there's a scale in the highwaybefore the weigh scale. The scale weighsthem and there are photographs takenand they're measured to make sure they'rewithin height clearance. All this informa-tion is sent to the scalehouse and it's dis-played to the operator."If the truck's weight is within a certain

tolerance of their maximum allowedweight a sign will tell them to report to thescale. If they're below that level, they'll begiven a message telling them to bypass thescale."It gives the vehicle compliance people

more time to be dealing with inspectionsso they can focus on the more problem-atic trucks that are on the road," Crosssaid.

By DARRELL COLEAmherst Daily News

Trucks pass through the inbound vehicle compliance station at Fort Lawrence, Nova Scotia. Work has begunon a new weigh-in-motion device on the Trans-Canada Highway before the weigh station. It's the fourth suchdevice in the province and should be operational by December. (Photo: Amherst Daily News)

Halifax airport celebrates50 years of servicealifax Stanfield International Air-

port (HSIA) marked its golden an-niversary on Sept. 10. Operations atthe airport began in June 1960, andthe air terminal building officiallyopened three months later.HSIA has experienced a number

of firsts in its 50-year history.Whenthe airport opened, it featured NovaScotia’s first escalator and now it hasthe province’s first moving sidewalkthat runs from the parkade to theterminal building. HSIA employedthe first female airport managerwith the appointment of JanetShrieves in 1987. Halifax was thefirst major airport in the country torecover and show increased passen-ger traffic in 2002 following thetragic events on Sept. 11, 2001.HSIA had the first digital billboardinstalled in Atlantic Canada by Pat-tison Outdoor in 2009. And it hasbeen ranked the world’s best airportfor overall passenger satisfaction in

its class (under five million passen-gers) for the last seven years in arow.Over the past five decades the air-

port has grown almost 20-fold fromabout 180,000 passengers in 1960 toover 3.4 million in 2009. “Wereached milestones in 1973 when webroke one million passengers, in1987 when we topped the two mil-lion passenger mark, and in 1998when we processed over three mil-lion passengers,” says Halifax Inter-national Airport AuthorityPresident & CEO Tom Ruth.HSIA has also undergone several

major infrastructure improvements.Transport Canada operated HSIAfor the first 40 years. In 2000, Hali-fax International Airport Authoritytook over operational managementunder a 60-year lease with TransportCanada. Since then, HIAA has in-vested over $376 million to upgrade,expand and improve the airport.

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10 November 2010 | THE AC&TJ | Transportation | Railways

Railway subsidy back on track[Sydney, NS]—The province has extended

a subsidy to prop up the Cape Breton andCentral Nova Scotia Railway and will set upa working group in an effort to build trafficon the Cape Breton section of the line.The agreement also deals with the thorny

issue of crossing fees, property leases and de-velopment near railway lands.Percy Paris, minister of Economic and

Rural Development, announced Thursday(Oct. 28) that the railway will continue to op-erate until at least the end of next Septemberunder the agreement. But he told the CapeBreton Post in a phone interview fromProvince House that the province must livewithin its means and the support can’t con-tinue in the long term.The $3.5-million extension is retroactive

to March 31, when the previous agreement

expired. Of that amount, $500,000 is avail-able to continue service if a transition periodis needed at the end of the term.Paris said the NDP government took a dif-

ferent approach to the negotiations than pre-vious governments.“We wanted to put everything on the table

that dealt with Cape Breton rail, we knewthat the residents along the rail line had con-cerns around leases and about crossing fees,so we wanted to put that on the table, whichcaused things to be drawn out a little bitmore,” he said.The railway has to become sustainable,

Paris said.“We want to look towards the long-term

viability and sustainability of the spur. Wedon’t want to be doing this every couple ofyears, we want something that’s going to be areal good solid strategy,” he said.A working group including railway offi-

cials, representatives of relevant provincial

government departments and businesses willbe set up to look at opportunities to boosttraffic. About 1,500 rail cars were transportedon the Cape Breton portion of the line in2009. About 10,000 are for it to break even.Railway general manager Shannon Toner

said she hopes the working group will bringpositive results.“Any business that presently isn’t on rail

would be a great target for us,” Toner said.Under the previous agreement, the railway

could access up to $10 million over five yearsfor working capital and maintenance costs.The rail line used $9.5 million during thatperiod.Paris said he couldn’t speculate whether

the province will be willing to offer anotherextension once the current agreement ex-pires.Beginning in 2007, a number of lease-

holders and landowners complained aboutthe railway hiking crossing fees and lease pay-

ments. Leaseholders also argued they shouldbe able to buy the properties from the rail-way at 1993 market values, the year RailAmerica obtained the line.Under the new agreement, crossing fees

are now set at $300 a year, with future in-creases subject to approval by the Utility andReview Board. Leaseholders will have the op-tion to buy their land at current fair marketvalue. Toner said there’s been a lot of interestfrom leaseholders in buying the properties.Safety was also part of the discussion,

Paris said, to ensure that the line is main-tained properly. A July inspection by Trans-port Canada following two train derailmentsfound more than 100 defects on the Truro-to-Sydney line, including deteriorating cross-ing surfaces, weak support ties at rail jointsand tree branches obscuring railway cross-ings.He said railway officials were co-operative

throughout the process.

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[PortHastings,NS]—TheCansoCauseway,Cape Breton’s only road link tomainlandNovaScotia, is about to be inspected for possiblewear and tear.The Department of Transportation and In-

frastructure Renewal wants to survey the un-derwater rock shelf that anchors the causewayto the Strait of Canso for damage that couldharm the causeway.The department is now seeking tenders for

the project, which will require a boat and sci-entific equipment such as side-scan sonar tocapture three-dimensional images from thewaterline down.“Basically, the way it works is the boat just

makes passes back and forth across causewaytaking its readings,” said department projectconstruction manager Jamie Chisholm.“It should show if there was big, large voids,

or areas where the armour rockmight have slidaway.”It took 10,000,000 tonnes of rock and two

years to build the 1.3-kilometre long causeway,

which is now 55 years old.For years, Port HawkesburyMayor Billy Joe

MacLean raised concerns about the conditionof the armour rock and town council wrote anumber of letters on the issue to the Depart-ment of Transportation. MacLean has arguedthat the armour rock needs to be improved toprotect the causeway against damage from theelements.Department officials analyzed the armour

rock a few years ago and decided extra rockcould be added from locations above ground.Work to reinforce the structure took placefromMarch to May this year.“It’s no different than our bridges,” said

Chisholm. “We have an inspection programwith our bridges that every so often we do aninspection to ensure that everything’s as itshould be, or if there are areas identified thatneed to be (addressed), then we can makeplans for repairs.”Chisholm said he’s hopeful an underwater

survey of the causeway can be completed thisfall, with any necessary repairs reported overthe winter months. Traffic is not expected tobe affected.

By ERIN POTTIEThe Cape Breton Post

Canso Causeway to bestudied for wear and tear

Transportation departments recognizedNew Brunswick andMaine departments of

transportation were co-recipients of the Part-nerships Award presented recently at the sec-ond annualAtlantica Champions of ExcellenceAward ceremony.The award is given to two or more organi-

zations or companies that have worked to-gether to increase cross-border businessactivity and develop opportunities.The Trans-Canada Highway and Route 9

upgrades, the new international border cross-ing at St. Stephen-Calais, and the commitment

to twin Route 1 from Saint John to St. Stephenwere some of the initiatives theAtlantica awardcommittee recognized with this award.Maine DOT Commissioner David Cole

said, “This is the first independent bordercrossing in 30 years, and that has taken un-precedented levels of co-operation betweenour two countries.”The ceremony was organized by the private

sector: the Bangor Region Development Al-liance, Maine Ahead and Bangor Metro mag-azines.

The New Brunswick and Maine departments of transportation were co-recipients of the Partnerships Award recently atthe second annual Atlantica Champions of Excellence Award ceremony. In the photo are from left: Saint John Board ofTrade President Imelda Gilman; Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner David Cole; Deputy Minister, NBDepartment of Transportation David Johnstone, and Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce President John Porter.(Photo: Communications New Brunswick)

11Railways | Transportation | THE AC&TJ | November 2010

June derailment down to one car left to dismantle

[Avondale, NS]—And then there was one.A single tank car sits at the site of June's train

derailment inAvondale (Nova Scotia) awaitingits fate at the hands of a demolition crew. Thelone white and black car sits on its side along-side the rails which parallel a gravel road. Nearthe car, and in a field across from it, are parts ofthe running gear from the various cars.The derailment involved 14 cars which in-

cluded seven cars carrying propane or butane.The other seven cars carried paper.The demolition is being done by Verhagen

Demolition Ltd. of Linacy andMarinusVerha-gen said on Tuesday (Sept. 14) that things havebeen going well."It hasn't been too bad.Wemade sure there

wasn't any propane left in them,we filled themup with water and that forces the propaneout.…We've done stuff like that before."The final car will take some time to disman-

tle."We've got one more rail car to work on, a

propane car. It's made out of stainless (steel).We need the proper gear."Verhagen said it will likely be a couple of

weeks before the final car is removed from thesite.He said the others were cut up and truckedaway to his scrap yard in Linacy.PictouEastMLAClarrieMacKinnon toured

the site late last week on one of his communityoutreach days and said he was satisfied withhow things are shaping up."I'm pleased to see that it's being done and

being done well.… Certainly Verhagen's isdoing a good job and doing it safely."

By STAFFThe New Glasgow Daily News

On Sept. 13 a lone rail car remained at the site of this summer's derailment in Avondale, Nova Scotia alongsideDewar's Mill Road. (Photo: Ray Burns/ The New Glasgow Daily News)

[Halifax, NS]—A new study suggests forpeak-period tolling to substantially cut downcongestion on one of the two Halifax har-bour bridges, toll prices would need to in-crease by 1,000 per cent.But commuters, rest easy,HalifaxHarbour

Bridges says it isn’t going down this road.

In fact, peak-period tolling is off the table— for now— as a possible way to cut downon bridge congestion because of the resultsof this survey prepared for and released yes-terday (Nov. 16) byHalifaxHarbour Bridges.Any peak-period tolling would be for

crossings between 7 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.“We’ve done a nice piece of work and

we’ve answered a question we’ve long won-dered about, but at this stage of the game,

peak-period tolling is not in play,” SteveSnider, the general manager and CEO ofHHB, said yesterday (Nov. 16).According to the online survey — which

Snider said had close to 10,000 people par-ticipate — taking the current 60 cent Mac-Pass toll and increasing it to $6 for peakperiods, auto traffic would go down by 45 percent.Cut that increase in half to $3, bridge con-

gestionwould drop by 15 per cent, but Snidersaid the decrease wouldn’t be noticed muchby drivers.“Another thing is given the level of traffic

increases, the benefit of that gain could verywell disappear within three to four years,”hesaid.Forty per cent of bridge traffic, according

toHHB, takes place during themorning andafternoon peak periods.

By PHILIP CROUCHERMetro Halifax

No bridge toll rise on way for rush-hour commuters

12 November 2010 | THE AC&TJ