Executing an excellent communications strategy on a major infrastructure project

Between 2020 and 2023, members of our team including Kayla Bordignon Danica Gallaher and Trevor Wales , worked with Pacific Gateway Constructors as the communications and stakeholder engagement leads on the Highway 91/17 Upgrade Project. As part of this work, SitePartners developed and executed the Construction Communications and Engagement Plan for the project, with a focus on communicating traffic and construction impacts to various stakeholders, businesses, and residents, as well as commuters in the region.

Pacific Gateway Constructors, a consortium comprised of Ledcor, Aecon and BEL Contracting, acted as the prime contractor on the Highway 91/17 Upgrade Project. The Highway 91/17 Upgrade Project will improve travel safety and efficiency on Highway 91, Highway 17 and the Highway 91 Connector.

The team encountered a range of challenges throughout the planning and construction phases of the project, including working within a busy corridor of existing highway systems that are relied on by thousands of daily commuters, commercial traffic, public transit and dozens of local businesses.?

Our team developed strong relationships with key stakeholders, including the City of Delta, emergency services, and transit providers, to ensure that all notices were delivered in a timely fashion, schedules were clear, and detour routes were identified to reduce impacts.?

“I’ve been involved in many provincial highway upgrade projects over my 14 years at the City of Delta, and I was extremely impressed and delighted with how SitePartners was able to manage communications and stakeholder engagement on the project” – Heather Thicke, Engineering Project Technologist, City of Delta.

One of the main ways we communicated about ongoing work were detailed traffic and construction notifications, which included descriptions of traffic pattern changes and other relevant information, including maps of closures and detours routes. In addition to these notifications, other key responsibilities included responding to public enquires, hosting Traffic Advisory Committee meetings with key local and regional stakeholders, tracking issues, and drafting media notices and advertisements.

With over 150 traffic and construction notices delivered, various newspaper and radio advertisements, several full closures of major highway systems, three new interchange openings along with new cycling routes, we are proud of the high quality of services our team provided.

“SitePartners developed the Communications and Engagement Plan and executed it throughout key periods of construction and recognized the importance of maintaining a proactive and client-minded approach. The team also invested in fostering strong working relationships with local and regional stakeholders and regularly received positive feedback from these stakeholders on the quality of external communications” - Adam Person, Project Director, Pacific Gateway Constructors

The Highway 91/17 Upgrade Project included construction of improvements at the Highway 91 at Nordel Interchange, a new interchange at Highway 91 Connector at Nordel Way, a new interchange at Highway 17 and Highway 91 Connector (and improvements to the Highway 17 and River Road connection. Learn more about the project here.

SitePartners specializes in construction and traffic communications including pre-project planning, writing Communications and Engagement Plans, identifying key stakeholders and developing lists, drafting notices including detailed maps, and more.

As a full service agency built for the industrial sector we are available to scale up or down on infrastructure projects to ensure success. With 30+ staff across Canada we are available to support major infrastructure projects from initial planning to final delivery. Learn more about our Stakeholder & Communications services and how we help move projects forward.

If you are looking for support on a major infrastructure project, contact us today ([email protected]) to learn how our team can support.