Bird Construction Inc. announced that its 50/50 joint venture with AtkinsRéalis, has entered into an Alliance Development Agreement to work collaboratively with Metrolinx to deliver the East Harbour Transit Hub. Bird is partnered with AtkinsRéalis under the Rail Connect (RC) Partners joint venture. The East Harbour Transit Hub, part of Toronto's SmartTrack Stations Program, is one of the first major projects in Canada to be procured using an `alliance' model.

The alliance model has been used internationally to plan and deliver large, complex infrastructure programs, driving innovation and collaboration between parties. The alliance model is better equipped to manage risk with greater transparency and cooperative decision-making. The Alliance Development Agreement marks a collaborative phase where the focus is on optimizing the design solution, developing detailed resource, cost, and schedule estimates, preparing a Project Proposal, finalizing the Project Alliance Agreement, and performing Early Works.