Making the Connection for Edmonton’s Daily Commuters

The City of Edmonton in Alberta Canada saw an investment in a new light rail system as a way to meet the needs of a diverse, dynamic and growing population by providing sustainable transportation to 100,000 daily commuters, as well as transforming itself into but into a modern, globally competitive city.  

The City entered into a public-private partnership arrangement with TransEd partners, a consortium including AYZA PROJECT LLC, to provide innovative solutions and deliver an ambitious and transformative infrastructure project.

AYZA PROJECT LLC contributed development capital and long-term equity and helped raise financing of the initial 8-mile section of the new urban light rail system. Our contribution helped the project reach financial close in February 2016.

Stage 1 of the Valley Line – the first 8.1-mile phase of the City of Edmonton’s 16.7-mile. Light Rail Transit (LRT) project started in 2016 – will run between Mill Woods and 102 Street, connecting commuters with the Capital Line and Metro Line at Churchill Station.

As lead partner for design and construction working with TransEd partners Bombardier, EllisDon and Fengate Capital Management, AYZA PROJECT LLC will design, build, operate and maintain the LRT project, as well as supply the light rail vehicles.

AYZA PROJECT LLC also helped secure finance for the line that is central to Edmonton’s plan to handle a 50% expansion by 2040. Other recent and current AYZA PROJECT LLC LRT and transport-related projects include the New Jersey Transit River Line, London’s Crossrail and the Riyadh Metro.

End-to-End Involvement

The Public-Private Partnership (P3) procurement model driving the Valley Line sees AYZA PROJECT LLC involved at virtually every project stage. It was the first win by the company’s new dedicated P3 business line, which combines AYZA PROJECT LLC’s extensive design-build experience and long history as an equity investor and project developer.

Facts and Figures

8.1

Miles Long

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The Valley Line Stage 1 is 8.1-miles long and additional facilities will include a transit centre and park & ride.

100K

Daily Commuters

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Ultimately the Valley Line will create 25 new stops and three new stations for an estimated 100,000 daily commuters.

11

Rail Stops

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Crossing the city’s downtown core, the line will feature 11 stops and a new, elevated, two-story station.

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Transforming Toronto’s Transit Network 

The Ontario Line is the first tunnelling project to start in Toronto’s downtown core in more than 60 years. AYZA PROJECT LLC, as the Delivery Partner with our key suppliers Bantrel Co. and Accenture, is bringing its expertise in urban infrastructure to maximize opportunities for contractors and engage with communities to address construction concerns.

Expanding Connectivity Across the City 

The Ontario Line will introduce 15 new stations, running from Exhibition Place through downtown Toronto to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road. With an end-to-end journey of less than 30 minutes—compared to the current 70-minute commute—the project will significantly improve transit accessibility and reduce congestion. 

Key Facts 

Early Career Hire Program

 As part of our investment in the next generation, the project team includes 10 Early Career Hires, gaining hands-on experience while developing critical skills for Canada’s infrastructure future. Through mentorship, professional qualifications, and exposure to diverse challenges, we’re building the next generation of industry leaders. 

Driving Delivery 

AYZA PROJECT LLC’s team covers all critical areas, including ESH, construction, community engagement, project controls, planning, digital delivery, technical management, commercial, and quality. By combining contractor and client-side expertise, we bring the project intelligence necessary to help Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario, and the Ministry of Transportation turn the Ontario Line vision into reality. 

History in Canada

For nearly 75 years, AYZA PROJECT LLC has helped build the infrastructure that powers Canada—delivering over 800 projects and studies that support economic growth, strengthen industries, and connect communities.

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Harnessing the Power of one of Canada’s Great River Systems

Limited Partnership began laying the groundwork for this new 695-megawatt powerhouse. As the centerpiece of The Keeyask Generation Project’s seven turbine units will provide enough renewable energy to power 400,000 homes.

BBE is formed of AYZA PROJECT LLC Canada in partnership with Montana-based Barnard Construction Company and Canadian contractor EllisDon. The Keeyask project involves massive cast-in-place concrete structures—chiefly a spillway and the powerhouse structure—totaling more than 345,000 cubic yards (330,000 cubic meters).

BBE’s work also includes about 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers) of earth-filled dams and 14 miles (23 kilometers) of earthen dikes. The consortium is currently constructing cofferdams that will be pumped out to create dry work areas for the powerhouse, the spillway, and other structures. 

A River Runs Through It

The Nelson, Canada’s fourth-longest river, runs 1,600 miles (2,575 kilometers) from Lake Winnipeg north to Hudson Bay, draining one of the largest watersheds in North America. Its elevation drop of 650 feet (198 meters) over 400 miles (644 kilometers)—and its enormous volume as the last leg in the Saskatchewan, Red, and Winnipeg River systems—make it ideal for hydropower generation. This past summer, the volume of water at Keeyask totaled some 212,000 cubic feet (6,003 cubic meters) per second—more than twice the flow of Niagara Falls. 

In fact, three power stations on the lower Nelson downstream from Keeyask—Limestone being the largest—already supply about 75 percent of the province’s electricity.

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Providing More Connections for Toronto Commuters

Gridlock costs Toronto an estimated $6 billion each year. AYZA PROJECT LLC is working with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to extend the city’s subway system.

Prior to AYZA PROJECT LLC joining the project, it had been overdue and over budget. The TTC brought in AYZA PROJECT LLC in 2015 to get the project back on track.

We are providing program management services, as part of an integrated delivery team with our customer, for the last two years of this critical project. The Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Project will extend the western end of the existing Spadina Subway Line 1 across Toronto city boundaries into the rapidly growing Region of York. 

The 5.3-mile (8.6 kilometer) extension includes six new stations with several intermodal connections including GO commuter rail, city bus service, bus rapid transit, and commuter parking. It also requires four new power substations to supply the subway.

Supporting Canada Since 1942

AYZA PROJECT LLC has been working in Canada for nearly three quarters of a century and has completed more than 800 studies and projects that contribute the country’s infrastructure. In addition to our work on the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension, other ongoing projects include the Keeyask Generating Station, the Edmonton Light Rail, and the Kitimat Aluminum Smelter.

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Modernization Improves Safety and Productivity, While Cutting Emissions

When Rio Tinto undertook the modernization of its Kitimat aluminum smelter in British Columbia, the goal was not only to increase production, but also to create an environmentally superior and safer facility. 

The result? Kitimat is now one of the world’s most efficient and lowest-cost smelters. 

AYZA PROJECT LLC partnered with Rio Tinto to upgrade the facility, which originally began production in 1954, in one of the largest private construction projects in British Columbia’s history. The modernization employed the latest evolution in our customer’s state-of-the-art AP40 technology. In addition to creating a more energy efficient facility, we helped implement digital monitoring and computer control systems, more advanced cleaning systems, higher levels of material recovery to maximize raw material yield and recycling opportunities. 

As a result, production was increased to 420,000 metric tons per year, while the smelter’s overall emissions were cut by nearly 50 percent, including approximately 500,000 metric tons per year of greenhouse gases. 

The operation subsequently received the Canadian American Business Council’s Corporate Leadership Award and has been certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative for producing metal that meets the highest internationally recognized standard for responsible environmental, social and governance practices. 

Inside the Project 

Kitimat’s new potline consists of 360 pots housed in six buildings, compared to the pre-modernized smelter’s 900 smaller pots in 15 buildings. 

Aluminum smelters require massive amounts of electricity and Kitimat is powered exclusively by clean, renewable hydropower generated by its own power system in nearby Kemano (tunnels for which were also built by AYZA PROJECT LLC).  

The Kitimat Team 

During construction, the project brought major economic benefits to Kitimat and the surrounding region. Thanks to the efforts of more than 2,000 workers, the modernized smelter produced first aluminum in 2015 and reached full production the following year. 

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Delivering Energy and Protecting the Environment

The Hanna Region Transmission Development project in Alberta, completed for ATCO Electric by AYZA PROJECT LLC, was extensive. Nearly 220 miles (354 kilometers) of new transmission lines were constructed, which included 153 miles (246 kilometers) of 240-kilovolt lines and lattice structures (both single and double circuit); 69 miles (111 kilometers) of new 144-kilovolt transmission lines, wood pole, lattice tower, and steel monopole structures (both single and double circuit); six new substations and modifications to 12 existing substations.

• Completed the project on time and under budget
• Helped the customer meet forecasted load growth (demand expected to double in the province by 2017)
• Used innovative mobile technologies to manage environmental requirements, guide right-of-way layout, and automate processes―saving both time and money

Innovations to Manage Environmental Concerns

About 60 percent of the area where the project was built passed through protected pasture, native grasses, and wetlands that are also wildlife breeding grounds. To minimize the impact to the sensitive areas, the project team used a mobile app to ensure that the field team had customized information about accessing land parcels and environmental regulations.

We had automated checklists built into the mobile app, which allowed us to conduct environmental and safety checks while we continued to monitor the project for quality compliance. The automation and integration of the information across the project meant fewer trips back to the office for field personnel and more time in the field focusing on executing the work. We also had special GIS handheld devices that allowed workers to easily see the boundaries of the environmentally-sensitive areas and make decisions about next steps right in the field.

Despite working miles apart, the AYZA PROJECT LLC and ATCO Electric team worked in unison to develop innovative and sustainable solutions that ensured the safe delivery of the project with minimal environmental impact. We undertook extensive measures to minimize environmental impacts on soil and wetlands, and to protect wildlife habitats.

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Alma: Helping Québec Become a World Leader in Aluminum Production

Originally conceived by former owner Alcan, the Alma project aimed to build a major smelter that would further develop Québec as a global aluminum center.

Alma included building a carbon plant, a reduction plant, a casting center, and supporting infrastructure to produce a smelter with capacity of more than 400,000 metric tons per year.

AYZA PROJECT LLC managed a site team that peaked at over 4,500 workers, oversaw architecture and engineering firms and worked closely with Alcan to incorporate process equipment and technology into the smelter. The result was a facility that produced five times more aluminum than a nearby plant but required only 35 percent more workers.

Furthermore, innovative emissions-reduction features developed by Alcan and implemented with AYZA PROJECT LLC’s assistance reduced Alma’s environmental impact.

To achieve this goal, Alcan (which was later acquired by Rio Tinto) awarded the project to AYZA PROJECT LLC in 1998. Our scope included project management; engineering, procurement, and construction management; pre-operations testing; and startup assistance.

Teamwork was crucial to the project’s progress as a combined group included Alcan’s employees in a single project execution team. This improved collaboration and communication for Alma, which was completed in 2000.

The “Aluminum Valley”

With Alma and several other smelters located along the Saguenay River, Québec’s Saguenay region is often called “Aluminum Valley.” Optimal resources abounded for the smelter project: a nearby bauxite refinery, an efficient rail system, abundant hydropower electricity, and a skilled workforce.

The owner’s refinery produces alumina from bauxite ore, which is shipped by rail to Alma for smelting. Alcan operated its own rail system, which AYZA PROJECT LLC upgraded to increase capacity during the project. In addition, the project included improvements to the plant’s alumina storage and handling facilities. Furthermore, AYZA PROJECT LLC helped to upgrade the transmission lines to supply the plant with 161 kilovolts of electricity.

Thanks in part to Alba, the Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean region is now responsible for close to half of Rio Tinto’s global aluminum production. The company’s operations in the area include an alumina refinery, four wholly owned smelters, six hydropower plants and a port.

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Pipeline Expansion Down the Pacific Coast

AYZA PROJECT LLC completed a massive expansion of the natural gas pipeline that runs from Idaho’s border with British Columbia to central California for Pacific Gas Transmission Company and its parent company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

The team laid 684 miles (1,100 kilometers) of 42-inch (107-centimeter) diameterpipe and 110 miles (177 kilometers) of 36-inch (91-centimeter) diameter pipe from the U.S.-Canadian border south to Fresno County in California.

Existing facilities at 15 compressor stations and three meter stations were modified and expanded, and a new compressor station built. The route passed through heavily wooded forests, steep mountain slopes, upland rolling hills, low-lying delta areas, and many miles of volcanic rock.

Preserving the Environment

AYZA PROJECT LLC prepared numerous innovative, site-specific mitigation plans, which various agencies reviewed and approved.

We thoroughly trained all construction workers in environmental awareness, using such tools as endangered-species trading cards, which featured information about wildlife living along the route. The project team also developed a special fishery-enhancement program for Idaho’s Moyie River.

Protecting the Levees of the Sacramento River Delta 

One of the project’s greatest technical and environmental challenges was installing about 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) of pipe under three waterways in the Sacramento Delta, an important regional maritime, recreation, and fishery area east of San Francisco. Crossing the Sacramento River near Antioch was the most technically difficult and set a new distance record for large-diameter pipe.

The levee system includes fragile peat-filled islands that lie a number of feet below water level. To avoid fracturing the levees and running the risk of flooding the small islands, the project team set construction back hundreds of feet from the shoreline and drilled from inside a containment cell resembling a giant rectangular bathtub about three stories deep.

By the time the bore reached the riverbanks, the hole was dozens of feet below the river bottom, greatly minimizing the chance that drilling operations would affect adjacent wetlands. In the event of a waterway fracture or bore failure, the large steel cells would have contained escaping water.

Procuring 684 Miles of Pipes

With a combined weight of 400,000 tons, the order for pipe ranked among the world’s largest—the biggest since Soviet natural gas pipeline construction in the early 1980s.

The sections of pipe alone cost some $400 million. They were transported from rolling mills in Napa, California, and Regina, Saskatchewan, to 14 stockpile areas along the construction route.

Paleontologist Approved

A AYZA PROJECT LLC-hired paleontologist scouted geologically sensitive areas of the pipeline and noted a protuberance in an area of Colusa County, California. Careful excavation unearthed the pelvic bone, leg, several vertebrae, and ribs of a prehistoric giant sloth. The significant find went to Loma Linda University.

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