In 1999, design commenced on a twelve-kilometre extension to Calgary's north-south freeway, Deerfoot Trail, under the auspices of Alberta Transportation. The terms of reference stated that, at the time of tendering the construction work, bidders should be allowed to bid on an asphalt concrete pavement or a Portland cement concrete pavement wearing surface. Unique to this project is the Province's willingness to allow a Portland cement concrete wearing surface (it is the first project in recent times that the Province considered paving with this material) and the development of a construction tender that allows bidders to choose the pavement on which they will bid. In order to address the pavement's disparate capital costs the design team suggested that the pavement structure be tendered as a Design / Build / Maintain (thirty years) project, with the wearing surface being either asphalt concrete or Portland cement concrete. This allows for a balance between the typically lower capital cost and higher life cycle costs of the former and the typically higher capital cost and lower life cycle costs of the latter, thereby making the two options competitive. For the covering abstract of this conference see ITRD number E211271.
Abstract