Engineering Project of the Year Award - Large Project Category Finalists

Project:York Region Administrative Centre Annex- “the Annex” or “the Project”
Company:EllisDon Corporation
Project Summary:
The York Region Administrative Centre Annex project involved the construction of a new eight-storey structure, which offers a variety of public services including: public health clinics, social services, Ontario Works, housing services, Provincial Offences Act courts, York Small Business Enterprise Centre and Access York Customer Services. The goal of the project was to modernize and consolidate a variety of community, health and courts services into one central, fully-accessible facility for the benefit of all stakeholders and the local community.

Project:Rutherford Station Improvements and Rutherford Road Grade Separation
Company:Wood
Project Summary:
The objective of the project is provision of new infrastructure to accommodate increased train service along the Metrolinx Barrie Rail Corridor and improve the flow of traffic along Rutherford Road in York Region. The project consists of a new grade separation taking Rutherford Road under a new rail bridge, a pedestrian bridge, stormwater pumping station, utilities, grading and drainage, GO Station building, parking garage, track bed and track design for an additional mainline track and new platform at the Station.

Project:Yonge Street Bus Rapid Transit [BRT] Project
Company:York Region Rapid Transit Corporation [YRRTC] – vivaNext
Project Summary:
In 2020, the Yonge Street bus rapid transit (BRT) project reached substantial completion, opening the 2.4-kilometre rapidway in Newmarket in January 2020 and the 6.5-kilometre rapidway in Richmond Hill in December 2020. These projects are about more than transit; they are transformation projects that upgrade utilities and infrastructure, provide dedicated lanes for buses and emergency vehicles, offer comfortable and accessible vivastations with heated enclosures for customers, and beautiful streetscapes for pedestrians and cyclists – benefitting the communities for generations to come.

Project:vivaNext H2 East & West
Company:EDCO JV (EllisDon Civil Ltd. and Coco Paving Ltd.) c/o EllisDon Civil Ltd.
Project Summary:
York Region’s vision for transportation services is to create a world class transit system, using technology and innovation that supports all modes of travel. This is achieved through improving active transportation in urban areas, vital to ensuring a sustainable transportation system for the future. These options provide a variety of benefits, including improved health of residents, better air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, a more connected and efficient transportation network, reduced traffic congestion and less dependence on the automobile.

Engineering Project of the Year Award - Medium Project Category Finalists

Project: The Climate Change Adaptation Approaches and Planning Considerations for York Region’s Water and Wastewater Systems
Company: WSP Canada Inc.
Project Summary:
This project is a study to identify climate change impacts on York Region’s water and wastewater infrastructure as well as how York Region can proactively implement initiatives to ensure the resilience of their system. A climate change risk assessment was completed for key assets representing each water and wastewater infrastructure type in the Region. The main output of the project is a Climate Change Roadmap, which details adaptation measures and initiatives to guide the Region’s water and wastewater infrastructure planning.

Project: New Subdivision Inflow and Infiltration (I/I) Prevention
Company: Civica Infrastructure Inc.
Project Summary:
New subdivision inflow and infiltration (I/I) prevention projects focus on promoting engineering best practices for new subdivision sewer construction and innovative low flow monitoring techniques to prevent current and future I/I. I/I limits vital capacity in the wastewater system, can be very costly to fix and limits sustainable community growth. The Regional Municipality of York pioneered the creation of new standards and innovative flow monitoring techniques through this project, which has grown and attracted other municipalities in southern Ontario to adopt.

Project: Baseline Study for F.G. Gardiner Expressway & Engineering Services for Biannual Hammer Sounding Assignment, City of Toronto
Company: Bridge Check Canada Ltd.
Project Summary:
Baseline Study for F.G. Gardiner Expressway & Engineering Services for Biannual Hammer Sounding Assignment, City of Toronto.Conducted a structural baseline condition survey study of 5-10% of the at-grade bridge structures and 5-10% of the elevated highway substructure components in order to provide a prepare an engineering rehabilitation program. Subsequent visual, surface deterioration and delamination surveys for the entire 7.7 km of elevated highway substructure components – conducted in Spring and Fall of each year, to determine areas of concrete removals to protect the public from falling concrete.

Project: Eglinton Crosstown LRT – Segment 1, Mount Dennis Station
Company:Frontop Engineering Limited
Project Summary:
Eglinton Crosstown LRT – Segment 1, Mount Dennis Station
Metrolinx is the project owner and Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS) is the Contractor, and their objective is to develop a new light rapid transit system which includes approximately 0.8 km of new alignment within the Eglinton Avenue right of way from Mt. Dennis Station to the West Portal; The Project will have stimulating land development and supporting intensification at Urban Growth Centres, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by increasing transit modal share, and supporting local population and employment growth, particularly at Urban Growth Centers.

Engineering Project of the Year Award - Small Project Category

Project: Road Surface Scanner
Company: SORSYS Technologies Inc.
Project Summary:
Road Surface Mapping device:
The scope of this project is designing and manufacturing a device to create a heat-map of the road surfaces detecting and identifying the road defects. The goal is to share the data with third-parties to be used in variety of applications.

Project: Stevenson Memorial Hospital – 3 Bed ICU Renovation
Company: Lonergan Engineering Inc.
Project Summary:
This project was a renovation at Stevenson Memorial Hospital, which was originally built in 1928. The objective was to convert three (3) existing obsolete patient rooms into a separate and enclosed Intensive Care Unit with three (3) new ICU patient bed rooms, built to modern healthcare standards, on a budget, and in time for the peak of the second wave of Covid-19 infections. Lonergan Engineering’s role was to design the electrical systems to meet those objectives.

Project: Erosion Control and Infrastructure Projection at German Mills Creek
Company: Resilient Consulting Corporation
Project Summary:
The City of Markham retained Resilient Consulting Corporation for the restoration design of a failing slope along German Mills Creek adjacent to a capped landfill. The City’s goal was to stabilize the slope with a naturalized solution to protect the capped landfill from further erosion. Resilient with the help of subconsultants developed an environmentally friendly naturalized solution that stabilized the slope, enhanced fish habitat, protected the landfill from being exposed to further erosion while also providing a benefit to local park visitors and the natural environment.

Project: VR Medical training application for 4Dmed
Company:CADmech Design Inc.
Project Summary:
Virtual reality (VR) is becoming vastly more accessible to students and educational institutions. We at CADmech had an opportunity to develop a medical training solution; allowing trainees to study on their own, without large cost on their educational institutions of staffing and operating these labs. These VR experiences allow for testing students retention of course/procedure material and tracking errors. The ultimate challenge here was developing a high visual quality experience for limited hardware.

PEO York Chapter is the largest chapter of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), with over 10,000 members in York Region and accounting for 10% of PEO's membership! With such a large engineering presence in the community, the Engineering Project of the Year Award acts as York Chapter's platform to build new, or deepen existing, relationships with high-tech companies and related businesses in the region, and ultimately highlight the engineering profession in our community!

The awards gala for the 2020 competition will be held in March at a business venue in York Region; the winner and runner-up of each category will be invited to attend the gala. The winner from each category will also receive the coveted honour of delivering a presentation on their successful project as part of the evening’s address, with the option to present video or other multimedia demonstrations showcasing the organization, the project team, and its engineering achievements.

For engineering projects, please read further on this page for the Engineering Project of the Year Award details.

For engineering research projects, please click here for the details of the Engineering Research Project of the Year Award. Any given project can only apply to one of the two awards in one given year.

• Objective
• Competition Description and Deadlines
• Evaluation Criteria
• Prizes
• Eligibility
• Questions
• Sponsorship
• Application Form

Objective ^(Top)

The objective of this competition is to recognize the contribution, both to the engineering profession and to the local community, by an organization that has undertaken or completed an outstanding project of a technical nature within the past year.

The benefits of participating in this competition are significant for both the Applicants and the engineering profession in York Chapter. These include, but are not limited to:

• Connecting high-tech companies to their local engineering community and potential community partners
• Educating engineering experts about local high-tech companies, connecting key talents and businesses
• Creating positive economic growth through executing technological innovation and resulting in job creation and employment opportunities through technological innovation
• Local businesses have a wide public forum in which to market their technical expertise and showcase their engineering successes
• Raises public awareness of the engineering profession and the highlight current York Chapter activities

Competition Description and Deadlines ^(Top)

Phase I: Abstract Submissions

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, January 20, 2021 @ 11:59pm EST. To submit your abstract, download and complete the application file and submit via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

Phase II: Preliminary Evaluation

Finalists will be selected by the Engineering Project of the Year Award Committee and will be notified by Friday, February 12, 2021. The selections will be made based on the strength of each application in its ability to satisfy the evaluation criteria.

Phase III: Preparation of Final Submission

The top finalists from each category will each prepare and deliver a short presentation that illustrates the project highlights. Further details about the nature of the presentation will be communicated when the finalists are announced.

The presentations will be delivered virtually (via Zoom) to a panel of judges on Saturday, February 27, 2021.

Phase IV: Selection of Engineering Project of the Year Award Winner

Based on an evaluation of the detailed presentations, the winner for each category will be selected and announced at the Awards Gala in March 2020. The committee is monitoring the COVID-19 situation and will determine whether the Awards gala will be held in-person or in a digital format (i.e. on Zoom).

Evaluation Criteria ^(Top)

*Note: Applicants will be able to select their company size in the application form. However, PEO York Chapter reserves the right to make changes to the sizing and sizing category. Any change to an applicant's competition category will be communicated within 1 week of the application submission deadline.

Evaluation Criteria:

All project submissions will be judged for their quality within the following four criteria, which will be weighted as indicated below:

1. Innovation, Technical Merit and Distinction (25%)
2. Environmental and Social Sustainability (25%)
3. Commercial Viability (20%)
4. Impact to York Region & Neighbouring Communities (30%)

 Guiding questions for the criteria are shown within the application form.

Prizes and Honours ^(Top)

The 1st place winner from each category will be invited to give a 5-minute presentation on their winning project at the Awards Gala.Additionally, each 1st place winner will receive the following prizes and recognitions:

• A commemorative trophy
• A complimentary free table at the Awards Gala for 6 or equivalent to celebrate with members of their project team.
• A promotional article of their winning project on the Awards section of PEO York Chapter website.
• Invitation to display an informative booth at the Gala, showcasing their projects and/or other company achievements, and presenting marketing information (limited spots available).

The runner-up in each category will receive the following prizes and recognitions:

• A commemorative trophy
• Complimentary invitation for 2 representatives to attend the gala (option to purchase additional tickets is available)

Eligibility ^(Top)

Contestant eligibility is determined based on the candidate business successfully satisfying the following conditions:

1. Organization has an operational presence in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) or York Region.
2. The project must be overseen by at least one licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario.
3. The project must have been completed within 2020 or be at a substantial stage of completion (e.g. substantially designed, constructed, or manufactured) within 2020.
4. Project details submitted must include only publicly available information.
5. Projects that received 1st or 2nd place honours in previous year's competition are not eligible for resubmission.
6. Projects that were not selected as finalists in the previous competition are eligible for submission, provided all of the above eligibility criteria are met.
7. Projects can only be entered for either the Engineering Project of the Year Award or Engineering Research Project of the Year in a given year, but not both.
8. Engineering Project of the Year Award Committee members and PEO York Chapter executive board members cannot be listed as the main project contact, project engineer, or be a presenter for the participating project competition.

Questions ^(Top)

Please direct any questions relating to the competition to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Questions and answers that may be beneficial to all applicants will be published to this website.

Sponsorship ^(Top)

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.