Variable Message Board Design – Manitoba

The Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI) Variable Message Board (VMB) project represents a strategic expansion of the province’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) network.

Spanning 19 different locations across Manitoba’s highway system, this project modernized the communication infrastructure on the Trans-Canada Highway (PTH 1), the Winnipeg Perimeter Highway (PTH 100/101), the primary commercial route to the United States (PTH 75), and the essential northern link (PTH 6).

These highways serve as the backbone of Manitoba’s trade and tourism economy. High traffic volumes and variable prairie weather conditions necessitated mechanisms for communicating real-time hazards to motorists. The project facilitated the installation of permanent overhead VMB structures, and high-definition traffic monitoring cameras, providing MTI with the capability to alert drivers to severe weather events, collisions, and road closures in a timely manner.

Dillon was engaged to provide comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, engineering services, from initial topographic surveys and detailed structural and civil design to tender preparation. This assignment required the delivery of a cohesive, safety-focused solution that integrated structural engineering with roadside safety design and ITS technology, ensuring that each of the 19 assets were deployed efficiently to protect motorists.

The work required the integration of structural, civil, and roadside safety engineering, including:

• Topographic Surveys and Utility Capture: Conducting detailed topographic surveys extending 150 meters along each roadway, in each direction, for each location to capture drainage and geometry measurements. Recognizing the high risk of utility conflicts in highway rights-of-way, the team executed a dedicated “Utility Capture” program, deploying surveyors to physically locate and map underground assets prior to the design to help mitigate construction risks.
• Structural Engineering: Designing standardized cantilever steel support structures and foundations. While standard cast-in-place concrete piles (915 mm diameter) were utilized for the majority of sites, the team engineered a specialized shallow spread footing anchored to bedrock for the Ontario boundary location to address site-specific geotechnical constraints.
• Civil and Safety Design: Designing widened roadway geometry to accommodate the new infrastructure while maintaining safe clear zones. The design integrated MASH and NCHRP 350 Test Level 3 compliant crash attenuation barriers (such as QuadGuard and TAU-II systems) to shield the new fixed-object assets.
• Tender Strategy: To meet MTI’s funding and construction timelines, our team prepared Class A estimates and split the project into distinct tender packages: one for the “Civil Works” (widening/aggregate) and another for “Structural Works” (foundations/erection). This allowed civil site preparation to proceed concurrently with structural fabrication.

Through a blend of rigorous technical design and agile project management, Dillon successfully delivered the VMB Design and Tender Packages. This assignment, spanning 19 strategic locations across Manitoba’s Highway System, modernized the province’s ability to communicate real-time, critical information to the motoring public.

The project team navigated significant complexities, including a change in geotechnical conditions at the Ontario boundary and high-risk utility corridors along the Trans-Canada Highway. By employing a strategic “split tender” delivery model and executing proactive risk management strategies like the “Utility Capture” program, Dillon ensured that the construction timelines could be met without compromising safety or quality.

Ultimately, this project achieved its primary goal: creating a safer and more informed roadside environment while establishing a robust ITS network. The successful deployment of these assets ensures that MTI can now provide important alerts during severe weather and emergencies, supporting the flow of trade and travel across the province for decades to come.

Project Details

Project Partners: Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure
Business Unit: Transportation
Service Offering: Supporting Infrastructure