To help the York Region address their transportation needs for the future, the biggest transportation project in its history has been undertaken to construct rapid bus lanes along four major arterial roadways. Once constructed, the initial dedicated bus lanes for the Viva system will extend about 35 km by 2020. In consideration of the scope of this initiative, the Region understood early in the process that traditional methods for contract delivery would not be adequate for a project of this scope and magnitude, given the pace of delivery. The other consideration was also the complexity of the project, combining road, transit, and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) elements and making sure they all worked together. With the success of the initial implementation of the Viva project “Quick Start” in 2005, involving bus rapid transit (BRT) in mixed traffic in two major corridors, the Region decided to continue with the design-build process for the following stages of work. York Region’s vivaNext programme is currently well underway. The programme is funded by the Province of Ontario through Metrolinx. Upon completion, rapid transit infrastructure will be owned by Metrolinx and operated by York Region. YRRTC continued with the design-build process similar to that was carried out in Quick Start. It will expand the dedicated bus lanes along some of the most heavily trafficked roads in the Region. Each contract undertaken as a part of the vivaNext programme had its own unique challenges. With each challenge, York Region has continued to adapt and modify their approach in handling the subsequent contracts. The focus of this paper will be to highlight some of the benefits and lessons learned in managing the design-build contracts.
