This is one of several articles profiling the in-person Fall Technical Meetings of TAC’s six councils and their committees that took place September 20-22, 2024.
TAC’s Infrastructure & Asset Management Council welcomed 50 attendees to its fall meeting.
Guest presentations
The Council received a presentation from the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Transit’s Kaylee Tower and Dawn Hinze on wildfire readiness and response. It also heard about a TAC project on surfacing bridges with asphalt mixes from Stantec’s Gabe Cimini.
Technical projects
The Council continues to solicit funding for four projects:
- A synthesis of opportunities and practices related to low-carbon road infrastructure
- A new edition of TAC’s Guide to Bridge Traffic and Combination Barriers
- A study to recommend approaches for developing utility relocation cost estimates
- A scoping study for an update to TAC’s Guidelines for Development and Management of Transportation Infrastructure in Permafrost Regions
Committee updates
The Council received updates from its six committees and a working group.
The Asset Management Committee attracted 55 attendees. It featured presentations on artificial intelligence in asset management, bridge inspections using drones, and asset management prioritization. Discussions were held on benchmarking asset condition across jurisdictions and implementing cross-asset management.
The Construction Committee meeting involved 55 participants. The Committee heard presentations on leveraging policy to drive low-carbon solutions and on social tendering. Attendees discussed staff recruitment and the use of engineering service providers.
The Maintenance & Operations Committee meeting was attended by 34 participants and included presentations on wildfire readiness and response, active transportation maintenance, and winter road maintenance practices. The Committee discussed staff recruitment and retention, procurement, public education, and budgets.
The Pavements Committee and Soils & Materials Committee held a joint meeting with 70 attendees. It featured presentations on the Ministry of Transportation Ontario’s data management platform and on making space for green rainwater infrastructure in the right-of-way. Discussions were held on problem soils and designing for soft and unstable subgrades.
The Structures Committee had 53 attendees. It heard presentations on the 170th Street Pedestrian Bridge in Edmonton and environmental product declarations. The Committee discussed challenges related to bridge rehabilitation and contractor capacity.
The Northern Transportation Infrastructure Working Group meeting attracted 27 participants who discussed initiatives related to permafrost, climate change impacts on transportation infrastructure, and managing challenges in cold regions.
Each committee also reported on its discussion of issues in its domain that involve or impact Indigenous peoples.
Infrastructure & Asset Management Council Executive
The Council’s Executive includes:
- Chair – Brad Neirinck (City of Winnipeg)
- Vice-Chair – Ian Pilkington (British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Transit)
- Past Chair – Jennifer Graham Harkness (City of Toronto)
- Board Liaison – Stephanie Hébert (Transport Canada)
- Chair, Asset Management Committee – Chris Yang (City of Calgary)
- 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 – Amma Wakefield (Asphalt Institute)
- Chair, Structures Committee – Robert Simpson (New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure)
Contact Craig Stackpole for more information on the council and its committees.
