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Infrastructure allows our society to function physically. It includes all the different systems a community relies on to meet its needs, from roadways and water to communications and waste management. Because of these facilities' widespread and near-constant use, they experience high levels of wear and tear compared to other types of construction projects. As a result, the materials and building methods used in infrastructure work are highly engineered for durability.

With the population in Canada and abroad expected to rise through the rest of the century, infrastructure projects can be as financially reliable as they are necessary to the world — even if they do have unique challenges. 

This article explores how infrastructure projects happen, what makes them different from other types of construction and how to best prepare for taking on an infrastructure job. 

Types of Infrastructure Projects

Since there are many kinds of infrastructure jobs, and every construction job differs from the last, there's no universal way to characterize each one.

Generally, infrastructure construction typically involves work that is large in both scale and budget, working with highly engineered and specialized systems, often on horizontal job sites that are subject to both the climate and traffic from the community. They also tend to have long payment reviews and timelines that can wreck a contractor's cash flow. 

The most obviously identifiable form of infrastructure is something many of us drive over every day: roads. But there are many more essential physical structures people need to live — even in remote places. The following lists several types that a contractor may find work on, but it’s not an exhaustive list by any means. 

Transportation

Canada alone has more than — more than half of those kilometres consisted of local roads, while approximately one-tenth were arterial roads. For a contractor looking for work in transportation construction, this is nowhere near the end of the road. 

Cities might contract construction crews to build or update bridges, as well as other pathways for types of transportation — bike lanes, speed bumps, crosswalks, sidewalks and even subway systems or other methods of public transportation. Design and technical specs for these projects are likely to be regulated by the corresponding provincial and federal departments of transportation in addition to the building department.

A general contractor (GC) in transportation construction needs to be mindful of how to navigate soil mechanics and other environmental factors, especially on roads, to ensure durability and keep people safe. It may be necessary to work with asphalt and concrete, which are heavily regulated for environmental concerns and drainage and runoff. Asphalt and concrete are engineered for winter freezes, but working with them involves other considerations, too.
For example, concrete has about 90 minutes to travel from plant to placement before it is out of specification. 

Additionally, it’s important to store and cool concrete properly to avoid falling behind on this scope of work. GCs on road projects often work under unit price contracts, meaning there are specific prices for each foot of pipe or culvert placed, cubic metre of dirt moved, or foot of striping.

Lastly, some major transportation projects, like a highway expansion or the building of a subway system, might be so large in scale and on such a long timeline there may be a multi-year master plan for their delivery.  A notable example in Canada is the , which began construction in 2011 and is part of the larger Metrolinx regional transportation plan, with phases of the project continuing over several years.

Water and Waste Systems

Water systems are much more complex today than they were 20 or 30 years ago. Larger main underground pipes carry water to and from the source, to treatment centres and storage facilities like water towers or canals for water conveyance, all of which may need repairs and updating. 

A GC should also be prepared to comply with regulations set by the , which has jurisdiction over water supplies designated as Canadian waters. In order to install safe, functioning systems, they should also understand water flow mechanics, how erosion is controlled and reduced and the flood risk to the system they’re working on. 

It's no surprise that the fundamental chemical compound essential to almost all known life forms—water—is heavily regulated in Canada. Federal regulations, including those under the , play a key role, but there are also provincial and territorial regulations. For instance, a wastewater plant may require a large-scale renovation to increase its capacity. In Ontario, for example, the Peel Region has invested around CAD 130 million to increase wastewater capacity by (MLD), at the G.E. Booth Water Resource Recovery Facility (WWRF). 

Communications

Communications infrastructure includes telephone and signal towers, wires, cables, antennas and satellites. Recent rollouts of fibre optic cables and 5G wireless internet in many cities represent different types of communications infrastructure jobs contractors may tender for.

While an ideal infrastructure project is designed to last and serve a lot of people, communications technology in particular changes quickly. Owners and project stakeholders should keep the future-proofing in mind for these types of projects, and ensure that it’s possible to switch out older tech with its newer counterparts later on in the process. 

Airports

Construction projects at airports can include building terminals, air traffic control towers, aprons, hangars and retail spaces as well as re-paving runways and taxiways. Like most infrastructure projects, major airports are generally publicly owned, but privately operated. Public-private partnerships permit government agencies to utilize private funds for these large-scale projects that can take several years to complete. 

Due to the level of security clearance needed to access certain areas of an airport, contractors should be strategic in scheduling subcontractors and ensuring that they have an accurate headcount of workers entering the jobsite each day. 

Additionally, scheduling during airport downtimes to prevent disrupting the regular flow of work in an airport should also be considered. Terminals, gates or other sections of the airport may require closing for certain scopes of work and limited to after hours. 

Schools, Hospitals & Government Buildings

Sometimes called “social infrastructure,” buildings that are necessary to essential functions of society—like education, governance or healthcare—are also considered infrastructure, and since public-use buildings tend to be older, they often need renovation or repair. 

Job order contracting, or JOC, arrangements allow for contractors to complete work on several smaller-scale projects under one tender. Contractors should ensure they have the labour bandwidth and for materials and labour, as JOC agreements may span several years with projects happening simultaneously with others. 

Moving from Commercial to Civil Construction

Depending on the type of project and funding, the construction tender processes can either be hard-tender or qualifications-based. Generally, hard tenders are required for government-funded projects. Understanding the differences between commercial and civil projects can help a contractor make the leap into this field. 

5 Keys to Success for Contractors & Planning Agencies

Obviously, what’s considered infrastructure is so expansive that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to any of its challenges. Still, there are a few things to keep in mind about what to expect. 

1. Stay diligent.

A lot of times, an infrastructure contractor is building in places with a lot of uncertainty. For example, a general contractor might be building a new road where there’s very little data about the soil and existing conditions they’re digging into. A good way to have a competitive tender for this kind of project is to conduct several test holes to gather as much information as possible about the conditions of the jobsite. 

Another important consideration is materials. Sometimes, a clause in the contract may require buying Canadian-made materials, especially when it comes to getting steel for bridges. Additionally, scheduling and coordinating the acquisition and delivery of these materials is vital. 

Each province typically has a spec book, like this one from , with all the rules that must be followed to work on their transportation infrastructure. Learning as much as possible from these will not only make the tender process easier for a general contractor—it’ll also make the work go smoother. 

2. Be safe and community-minded.

Much of infrastructure work—like laying roads or fixing pipes in the ground — is occurring in places that are populated. In fact, a common reason to do infrastructure work anywhere is because the area’s population is growing. 

Keeping the community in mind from the start can help ease the process of managing their safety throughout the job. Even if road closures are planned for overnight, notices should be put up as far in advance as possible so that people are well-informed about the need to make other arrangements. 

Contractors must also be mindful of the space needed to perform certain scopes of work and plan for the appropriate laydown space for their equipment. Heavy earth machinery, cranes and materials may be difficult to find space for in tight areas of big cities. 

The more traffic that can be diverted from the jobsite, the safer and easier the job will be. Being community-minded isn’t just about the humans who live in the area the work is affecting. Road and telecommunications work can affect the patterns of migratory birds, and many bat colonies live beneath bridges. 

3. Document thoroughly.

Typically, preconstruction for an infrastructure project involves the owner, which is usually a city or state, securing funds—often through passing a bond to raise money for it. Public funding can often mean that the documentation upon handover of the project needs to be more meticulously kept since government offices tend to scrutinize taxpayer funds. 

4. Understand right of way and expropriation.

In general, “right of way” comes up on roadwork near houses and refers to an established property that’s legally given over to be used in a construction project. It can be short-term, like using a part of someone’s property to operate a crane or excavator for the day, or permanent, so that property access is maintained for the entire project. 

There are also two types: easement and fee. For easement right of way, the owner agrees to allow construction on the property for an agreed-upon amount of time. More popular today is fee-based right of way, in which the land is purchased for use.

Canada also has a history of . In general, expropriation is the government's legal right to seize private land for public use, with fair compensation provided to the owner. While this process can be effective, it is often controversial, especially when a property owner is unwilling to sell or relocate, and the right of way must be secured for a project. Although it can be time-consuming, it is possible for the government to legally remove someone from their land through this process.

5. Maintain relationships.

Like all kinds of construction, infrastructure construction relies on good relationships. Being kind and doing quality work are necessary parts of making sure that more work is available in future. Additionally, with , estimated at 40.1 million in 2023, projected to grow over the coming decades and reach between 47.1 million and 87.2 million by 2073, infrastructure construction can be a way to keep a contracting business relevant and useful to the world while maintaining job security. 

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