Background
In November 2021, catastrophic flooding through river weather events caused widespread damage on BC’s highway network, severing a vital transport corridor. Subsequent urgent permanent reinstatement works were required to restore transport connectivity across 3 distinct parts. This was delivered through collaborative and Alliance models.
BC Highway 5 – Bottletop, Juliet and Jessica Bridges Replacement Project
The reinstatement works were triggered by extensive flooding between Hope and Merritt, which severely damaged three bridge sites. The scope required a technically complex reinstatement. The project was delivered through the Coquihalla Alliance Team (C.A.T.5), comprising of the owner, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI), and the KEA5 Partnership, comprising Kiewit and EAC as the Constructor and Kiewit as the Designer. The Alliance team was supported by BASIS Engineering as design subconsultants and by a multitude of other construction subcontractors.
BC Highway 1 – Nicomen, Falls Creek and Tank Hill
This section of Highway 1 experienced significant structural failures, washouts and embankment collapse, forming part of Infrastructure BC’s broader Highway Reinstatement Program delivered through a collaborative construction model in which the ministry and the contractor collaborate emphasising shared risk, shared incentives, joint decision-making and integrated delivery.
BC Highway 8 – Category B project (between Spences Bridge and Merritt)
The Highway 8 corridor formed a major component of the permanent recovery program after more than 20 sites were impacted and over 7 km of highway was destroyed, with the corridor closed for 361 days during emergency restoration, and included highway realignment, replacement of temporary bridges with permanent two-lane structures, widening, paving and associated works. The reinstatement had a specific focus on design and innovation for climate change resiliency to mitigate the effects of future similar events.
The M&M Effect
Across these pursuits, M&M focused on enabling the teams to demonstrate authentic collaborative capability within high-pressure bid environments, including:
- M&M facilitated in-person sessions for the Highway 8 pursuit, supported by a series of virtual sessions to strengthen facilitation, alignment and gameday readiness across the team for Highways 1,5 & 8.
- Alignment of team behaviours to Alliance principles, shared values and outcomes.
- Supporting teams to clearly articulate how collaboration could be embedded throughout delivery.
- Strengthening confidence, trust and clarity across multi-organisation and joint venture teams.
This work supported teams to present cohesive and credible collaborative approaches during assessment processes and contributed to successful bid outcomes across the recovery program.
In Their Words
I enjoyed the process. Em and Sarah you are both terrific to work with. We will fondly remember this and look forward to working with you again at some point.
Thanks so much! This was a fun process, and I think we all gained knowledge we'll be able to use throughout our careers.
Our Take
Our work with these teams wasn’t just about getting them ready for an assessment. We spent time with them to build the behaviours and habits that would actually help in the workshops; skills they could use in real conversations, not just on the day. A big part of that was drawing out the experience each organisation brought, and the genuine commitment they all had to BC’s reinstatement work. We weren’t trying to make everyone sound the same; we wanted their different strengths to be made apparent.
When under pressure, it’s easy for teams to slip into scripted or overly technical answers. Instead, we encouraged them to talk about the real work, how they collaborate, what they’ve learned on the ground, and their shared passion to deliver for the communities. The preparation took effort, but it gave the teams the confidence to engage openly with the client and start building a solid, trust-based relationship.
