Trans-Canada Highway and McCallum Road Interchange Upgrade: A Value Added Project The City of Abbotsford indicated that the McCallum Road interchange along Highway 1 represents one of their most significant transportation issues within the City (1). The existing interchange dates back to the early 1960’s and had only a 2-lane bridge crossing the TransCanada Highway (TCH). Combined with inefficiencies in the surrounding road network and poor safety performance at the interchange, this meant congestion and access in and out of the city were a problem. The project budget was $25-million and was cost-shared by the City of Abbotsford, the Province of British Columbia, and the Federal Government. The later was part of the Infrastructure Stimulus Program which originally required the project to be completed by March 31, 2011. This dictated a tight project schedule that required the design to be completed by early spring to take advantage of the 2010 construction season. In August 2009, the City of Abbotsford retained ISL Engineering and Land Services (ISL) to provide preliminary and detailed design services. The design was to be based on the City’s business case that selected a conceptual interchange configuration (Option 4) for implementation (1). This concept proved unviable within the budget, based on the scope. ISL led a team of consultants through a value analysis to identify a feasible alternative within the budget. The final solution (Option 7b), was a diamond interchange configuration with roundabout intersections and included BC’s first two-lane, six-legged roundabout. The project exceeded the owners’ original aims and objectives. The cost effective design solution combined with lower bids received at the time of contract tendering, resulted in significant cost savings. These cost savings allowed the City and the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to add further road and facility upgrades to the project during the construction phase. Even with these additions, the project still came in on budget and was completed to the approved schedule and later-released extension of the Federal Stimulus Program (October 2011).
