North and South America

Mike Isola

Regional managing director

Building resilience and stability in transportation, water, energy and underground infrastructure.

Mott MacDonald divisional general manager Conrad Fawcett (second right) with colleagues on the Sound Transit project

View from this region

US$550bn

US government infrastructure

spending over 5 years

CAN$180bn

Canadian government infrastructure

spending over 12 years

Great people, success on major projects and significant growth potential in the market put us in a strong position to ride out the turbulence of any economic uncertainty.

Large, complex projects are where we excel. Our exceptional capabilities in underground infrastructure differentiate us and are key to growing our business.

The economic challenges across the globe in 2022 were felt in the North American market. Infrastructure investment was lagging, but that has changed as both the US and Canadian governments seek to provide better social outcomes for communities, making historic investments in transportation, water infrastructure, and energy systems.

In North America our focus has been on supporting our transportation, water and energy clients to successfully solve their most challenging problems and deliver sustainable infrastructure solutions. Large, complex projects are where we excel. Our exceptional capabilities in underground infrastructure differentiate us and are key to growing our business. The breadth of unique capabilities we offer in North America, supported by our expertise around the world, is hard to beat.

Water and energy pipelines have been a catalyst for continued growth in the region, with pipeline-related work accelerating. Clients have put more focus on renewable networks that adapt the fossil fuel infrastructure they have now – a demand that we are well placed to support.

In transport, we are seeing a growing trend for underground infrastructure in urban areas. Transportation networks in larger cities are becoming more complicated and intricate as we negotiate the space they require. Existing networks also cannot be shut down as new systems are created. These are all things that play to our experience and capabilities, including the array of digital tools we bring in to drive efficiency and reduce uncertainty in delivery.

Clients have put more focus on renewable networks that adapt the fossil fuel infrastructure they have now.

We are adopting an increasingly integrated regional approach, leveraging our key strategic capabilities across North America to drive differentiation. As part of our plan to significantly grow our business in North America, we welcomed new unit general managers into our senior leadership team.

Our strategic activities in 2022 also focused on strengthening our business development expertise, to help us to remain a sustainable, growing business that will continue to have positive impact through periods of market volatility. We are committed to building deeper, enduring client relationships.

Being able to offer the opportunity to work on large, impactful, challenging projects adds to our appeal in recruiting many of the best people in the industry. We are also committed to being an employer of choice by increasing our investment in internal development and growth opportunities for our people.

We have a strong foundation to build on as we turn to 2023. We are a resilient, purpose-driven business, and I am confident we will continue to successfully offer sustainable infrastructure solutions that drive positive outcomes for our clients and communities in the year ahead.

The US

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signalled the US government’s strong commitment to upgrading and future-proofing infrastructure with $550bn in new spending. This includes the region’s largest ever investment in public transit, with almost $90bn for roads and $110bn for bridges. Since it was announced in November 2021, over $185bn has already been provided to US states for 6900 projects.

Major rail-related work we have been delivering includes the $2.3bn Green Line Extension in Boston which opened to the public in December, expanding service on the oldest transit line in the US. New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) opened its landmark $7.3bn East Side Access project to the public too. For more than 20 years, Mott MacDonald has provided essential tunnelling expertise on this transformative project for New York City public transit.

We are also delivering two large, technically challenging and iconic projects with complex ground conditions in Virginia – Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Expansion and the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel.

To the west, our large-scale rail projects in Los Angeles include LA Metro’s Regional Connector transit project, a highly complex design-build. In Seattle, we are owner’s engineer for the Seattle Sound Transit Federal Way Link Extension. We have worked alongside Sound Transit as a trusted partner for more than 20 years, helping the agency as a consultant on rail systems and infrastructure to deliver 11 projects, five of which are still underway.

Canada

Through the Investing in Canada Plan, the government is investing $180bn in rebuilding, expanding and adapting infrastructure over 12 years.

We continue to have a strong resume in Canada, where we provide a full suite of design and advisory services, from detailed design of water supply tunnels in British Columbia to natural gas pipelines in Calgary, to climate resilience assessments for buildings in Toronto.

In 2022, we were successful in our bid on the Toronto Scarborough Subway Extension for Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario. We are the prime designer for the Scarborough Transit Connect consortium under a progressive design build delivery model. The Scarborough Subway Extension project extends the existing subway service 7.8km, providing 38,000 more people with easier access to public transportation. It will offer three new underground stations, up to six connections to other transit options and cut greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 10,000t per year.

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