For the third straight year, Kelly Panteluk Construction Ltd. (KPCL) has earned the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association’s (SHCA) Best Overall Large Project Award.
The recognition was presented at the SHCA’s fall convention in Regina on Nov. 16 and 17. KPCL was recognized for its work and leadership with the Highway 39 twinning project east of Estevan, which wrapped up in mid-November at the same time the convention was taking place.
Mary Panteluk, who is the vice-president of human resources for KPCL, said the company was extensively involved with the project, including the removal of the existing road surface structure and subgrade; the construction of subgrade and surface structure for 12 kilometres of road; the relocation of the junction of Highways 39 and 18 to a location further to the west to create a safer turning area; the construction of eight kilometres of new double lanes; and the construction of the new overpass for the coal haul road, creating a new access for the mines to reach local power stations.
The previous overpass, located to the west, had been built in the 1970s.
“Earthworks placed totalled over 1.2 million cubic metres by the end of the project,” Panteluk told the Mercury. “A unique feature was that the road structure was built using GPS grade controlled machines from the bottom up. This enabled us to build with more accuracy than standard practices.”
While KPCL worked with other sub-contractors for crushing and hauling aggregate, as well as paving, those companies worked under KPCL’s direction.
KPCL has handled other projects for the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure throughout the company’s history, Panteluk said, and every project is slightly unique.
“While we’ve done a lot of work in the past with either twinning portions of highways, or upgrading the sub-structure, this one would have come with its own set of challenges as well,” said Panteluk.
Among those challenges was accommodating traffic. KPCL wanted to limit inconvenience to motorists as much as possible.
“There was only period, for less than a week, where the project was reduced to one-lane traffic,” she said. “Throughout the completion of the project, it was necessary to switch traffic flow from one lane to another five different times, and we had seven different detours and cross-over sections.”
There would be two or three separate work zones at any given time during the project.
“It did leave us with a massive cleanup operation at the final stage of the project, but it was important for us to limit inconvenience to the public by keeping traffic moving throughout,” said Panteluk.
To be eligible for the large project award, the project must be worth at least $10 million. Criteria includes the quality of work, complexity of the project, safety, traffic accommodation, teamwork, co-operation, innovation, community impact and environmental impact.
A focus on traffic accommodation created a safer working area for everyone, she said.
Panteluk said KPCL is proud to be recognized within the industry for the work that it completes.
Last year KPCL received the award for work on ash lagoons at the Poplar River Power Station near Coronach. Two years ago it was saluted for a 30-kilometre rail line at the K + S Potash Mine at Belle Plaine, which is the largest project in the company’s history.
