2022

FedEx YVR Temporary Parking - Aylmer and Terrace

Transportation - Aiports

FedEx

Richmond, British Columbia, Canada - Virtual Visit

Construction administration and monitoring for gravel parking area FedEx needed for staff. Part of three-phase plan to expand and upgrade parking that supports operating the FedEx Shipping Centre on Aylmer Road.

Learned and re-learned key practices for our current era

We changed who delivered and managed this project when we evolved from design to construction. YVR manages the land and infrastructure on Sea Island, where the FedEx facility sits.

I learned two things while responsible for the construction for our client:

• Keeping the rigorous YVR construction approval process flowing requires focused attention

• Model what you want built, expect the contractor to use your model; building earthworks within tight schedules and budgets involves sharing the design model for construction use

For this "small and simple" project, we had developed the earthworks model for planning and we prepared drawings to communicate how we wanted features finished. Jacob Bros promptly requested our design model to feed construction layout. Our data sharing agreement has legal phrasing to push responsibility for making sure the model matches the drawings to the contractor.

The legal language is useless when you need to respond to your client about risking delay and re-work for construction. When the design ground model doesn't have room for both the parking layout and the stormwater management feature detailing.

We proceeded with the earthworks in the design model and had to pivot what ground cover and erosion protection we had on the stormwater channels.

I re-learned how important subsurface utility understanding and coordination are for smooth workflow when building earthworks:

• get subsurface utility data early; push for all available sources
• expose and verify utilities for review with authority having jurisdiction

We had the BC OneCall results and the YVR export from their Geographic Information System. Until YVR raised it during the permitting stage, we missed a buried hydrocarbon line that crossed the entire section of land from Aylmer Road, through FedEx's lot and the adjacent lot west.

Discovering this additional utility system delayed the project while YVR checked on whether the line was operating, dormant, or abandoned. BC OneCall only shows buried infrastructure from organizations and companies that choose to become members, such as third-party utility operators and municipalities.

Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia is developing professional practice guidelines for subsurface investigations to release in 2026. (EGBC Tools.)

Project started three-phase site development

Phase 1 expanded parking for staff, filling between the existing gravel parking and the Shipping Centre paved lot. Project installed gravel surface, storm channel, pinned wheelstops, and upgraded security gate into the Shipping Centre.

• Utility search after construction started - decommissioned lines that even YVR didn't want to touch

• grading checks for channels where design model shared for construction didn't match specified typical detail and banks were too steep for the designed cover plants

Phase 2 expanded west and Phase 3 upgraded the rough existing north area. These areas are for fleet vehicles.

Project trivia

At time of publication, street views show pre-construction, latest orthophotos show fully completed phases (1, 2, and 3); Phase 1 completed between 2021 and 2023 orthophoto flights.

Site was on old community church.