What’s new with TAC’s Infrastructure & Asset Management Council

This is one of several articles profiling the in-person Fall Technical Meetings of TAC’s six councils and their committees that took place over September 22-24, 2023.

TAC’s Infrastructure & Asset Management Council  welcomed 33 attendees to its fall meeting.

Guest presentation

The Council received a presentation from Robert Grimwood and Scott Laberge on the City of Ottawa’s Transportation Asset Management Plan. To give a better overall picture, the plan’s service-based approach included facilities and fleets that support core assets. The city’s asset portfolio was broken into roads, bridges and bridge culverts, other structures (e.g., culverts, retaining walls, guardrails), sidewalks and pathways, and other assets (e.g., road service buildings, parking facilities, road, and traffic services fleet).

Committee updates

The Council received updates from its six committees.

The Council received updates from its six committees and one working group.

The Asset Management Committee meeting attracted 24 attendees. It featured discussions on benchmarking asset condition, combining asset classes into a common framework, and the use of artificial intelligence in asset management.

The Construction Committee meeting involved 35 participants. The Committee heard a presentation and ensuing discussion on using low-carbon concrete to help meet infrastructure-related emission reduction goals.

The Maintenance & Operations Committee meeting was attended by 22 participants and included technical presentations on benchmarking winter maintenance practices, and on Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Salt Working Group. The Committee discussed funding, public level of service expectations, and snowplow safety.

The Soils & Materials Committee and Pavements Committee held a joint meeting attracting 60 attendees. It featured presentations on plant cold recycled asphalt pavement mix, Ontario’s next-generation concrete pavement texture, and automation and artificial intelligence. The Committee also discussed low-carbon asphalts and 3% cross slopes.

The Structures Committee meeting attracted 45 attendees. It heard technical presentations on regulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), deck joint practices, assessment of the main span bearing of the Florenceville bridge, and rehabilitation of the South Nation River bridge using fiber-reinforced plastic technologies.

The Northern Transportation Infrastructure Working Group also provided a report on its inaugural meeting, which attracted 16 participants and included a presentation from the Government of the Northwest Territories on the Tlicho Highway, a public-private partnership project built with extensive Indigenous involvement. The working group is a cross-disciplinary forum for information sharing by Northern stakeholders on topics of interest including climate change adaptation and roadway design, construction, and maintenance practices.

Infrastructure & Asset Management Council Executive

The Council’s new Executive includes:

• Chair – Brad Neirinck (City of Winnipeg)
• Vice-Chair – Ian Pilkington (British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure)
• Past-Chair – Jennifer Graham Harkness (City of Toronto)
• Board Liaison – Stephanie Hébert (Transport Canada)
• Chair, Asset Management Committee – Nathalie Gionet (Yukon Highways and Public Works)
• Chair, Construction Committee – Ron Weatherburn (Dillon Consulting Limited)
• Chair, Maintenance & Operations Committee – Jason Kittle (City of Toronto)
• Chair, Pavements Committee – Ania Anthony (Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways)
• Chair, Soils & Materials Committee – Sina Varamini (Engtec Consulting Inc.)
• Chair, Structures Committee – Robert Simpson (New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure)