What’s new with the Infrastructure & Asset Management Council

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

This is one in a series of six articles on TAC’s Fall Technical Meetings that were held in Edmonton on October 1 and 2, 2022. Each article will profile one council and its committees.

TAC’s Infrastructure & Asset Management Council had 55 attendees at its first-ever face-to-face meeting.

Technical projects

The Soils & Materials Committee proposed a pooled-fund project to develop a practice-ready Canadian guideline on using recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in asphalt mixtures. The guidance would integrate effective current practices and input from industry leaders to address material management, mixture design, plant production, and laydown of asphalt mixes produced with RAP to ensure proper performance. Council members approved the project, which is now seeking funding; if your agency is interested in supporting this project and joining the project steering committee, contact the TAC Secretariat.

Invited speakers

The Council received presentations on light rail transit from Bruce Ferguson of the City of Edmonton and on the interaction of bats and bridges from Lorraine Andrusiak of Hemmera EnviroChem.

Committee updates

The Council heard reports from six committees that had met previously.

The Asset Management Committee meeting attracted 40 attendees. It featured a discussion on replacing asset management systems, climate change, staff shortages, escalating costs and standardizing condition indexes.

The Construction Committee meeting involved 33 participants. The Committee heard presentations on keeping workers safe by Donald Maillet and on concrete construction for a changing climate by Enrico Stradiotto. Notable discussions during the meeting included worker health and safety, climate change planning and adaptation for construction projects.

The Maintenance & Operations Committee meeting was attended by 22 participants and included multiple technical presentations: Bats and Bridges by Lorraine Andrusiak, Benchmarking Winter Maintenance Practices by Audrée Perreault, and a Fall/Winter Outlook by Heather McClintock. The Committee discussed workforce recruitment, retention and fatigue, supply chain delays, tenders, blue lights and the 311/511 public information advances. The Committee continues to seek funding partners for its project on Maintaining and Repairing Small Culverts.

The Pavements Committee meeting welcomed 61 participants and heard presentations from Karim Mohammad on Alberta Transportation’s updated pavement preservation guidelines, from Jason Trotter on the ASTM Standard E3303 for generating surface cracking indices from digital images, and from Cherie Fuchs on pavement design challenges in urban Edmonton. The Committee also discussed net-zero and green technologies and low-carbon pavements. 

The Soils & Materials Committee meeting attracted 60 attendees. It featured presentations from Felix Doucet on longitudinal joint practices in Quebec, and from Ania Anthony and Wayne Mah on surface treatments in western Canada. The committee also heard updates from TAC’s Maintenance & Operations Committee on areas of overlapping interest.

The Structures Committee meeting attracted 60 attendees. It included technical presentations from Kurt Taylor and Sara Wadlow on the widening of the North Saskatchewan River Bridge and from Gilbert Grondin on Alberta Transportation’s new deck joint developments. The Committee also heard from Lorraine Andrusiak on bats and bridges. A roundtable discussion was held on deck joint practices in Canada, with speakers from Alberta Transportation, Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.


Infrastructure & Asset Management Council Executive Volunteers

  • Chair – Jennifer Graham Harkness (Ministry of Transportation, Ontario)
  • Vice-Chair – Brad Neirinck (City of Winnipeg)
  • Chair, Asset Management Committee – Gabe Cimini (Stantec)
  • Chair, Construction Committee – Hector Moreno (Town of Whitby)
  • Chair, Maintenance & Operations Committee – Heather McClintock (WSP Canada Inc.)
  • Chair, Pavements Committee – Richard Korczak (Stantec)
  • Chair, Soils & Materials Committee – Sina Varamini (Engtec Consulting Inc.)
  • Chair, Structures Committee – Robert Simpson (New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure)
  • Past Chair – Ashley Curtis (City of Toronto)
  • Board Liaison – Stephanie Hébert (Transport Canada)

Contact Craig Stackpole for more information on the Infrastructure & Asset Management Council and its committees.

 

 


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