Twice as Nice: Pair of Flatiron Projects Take Home Prestigious IPI Awards

Peace River Bridge

Flatiron projects in Alberta and California won the John L. Martin Partnered Project of the Year Award, given out by the International Partnering Institute (IPI).

The accolades went to the Peace River Bridge – Highway 2 Twinning Project at Peace River, Alberta and the I-710 Project in Los Angeles, California.  Both projects earned a Sapphire Level Partnered Project of the Year award in Civil Category 2 – $25 million to $250 million.

The John L. Martin Partnered Project of the Year Awards are presented annually to recognize teams who distinguish themselves by implementing IPI’s best practices for an integrated partnering program and exemplify a high-trust working relationship in their projects. 

From the start, the owner Caltrans and Flatiron collaborated on the $88 million Route I-710 Project. The 3.5-mile work area was located in a congested urban location providing access to downtown Los Angeles. A portion of the project was located inside a busy BNSF railyard as well. However, that spirit of robust communication paid off. The project opened 18 months early and within the Caltrans budget. “This success was a direct result of the entire team’s commitment to the partnering process, and to timely issue resolution with a ‘project first’ mentality,” said Flatiron Vice President and District Manager Ural Yal.

I-710 finished up work in February.

The Peace River Bridge – Highway 2 Twinning Project was a $148 million Flatiron-Aecon Joint Venture. The new bridge, on which construction began in October 2017, is a high-traffic structure that carries Provincial Hwy 2 in Canada. Improving access to key resource areas and safety for travelers, local residents and businesses, the project included construction of a new bridge structure—twinning
1.6 kilometers of Highway 2 through Peace River, Alberta. Since its completion in October 2020, the bridge has been seeing more than 17,000 vehicles per day, with both eastbound and westbound traffic through Peace River. It will keep carrying traffic from both sides until the original bridge is put back into service after the retrofit.

“The opening of the new bridge has had a great impact on the community.  Not only has it increased the safety of the crossing by bringing the lane widths and shoulders up to current guidelines but it has decreased the daily commute times for many residents.  The community has been very supportive throughout the entire project so it’s great to see we are making a positive impact,” said Clayton Hilhorst, Project Manager for the Peace River project. “Everyone involved is excited to receive this award since partnering has been such a core component of this project.  This mindset has allowed the team to work through multiple difficult issues and has been instrumental to our success.”