Golder, along with a multidisciplinary team of firms, was recognised with the Tunnelling Association of Canada’s (TAC) 2020 Canadian Project of the Year Award (under $100M). The honour was presented for the Riverside Stormwater Interceptor of Saint-Lambert project, a microtunnel designed to drain excess rain and groundwater from the city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Montreal.
Golder was engaged during the early stages of the project, to consider the application of a suitable tunnelling methodology for the construction and installation of a new 2250 mm diameter near-surface storm sewer system, through challenging ground conditions. The baseline scheme was originally proposed to be done by open cut deep trenching, which would have been very disruptive to this busy residential area.
Golder considered the tunnelling options, looking in detail at several high-level risks during the constructability review, including surface settlement, and disruption and potential disturbance to existing structures, including the shallow foundations of a major overbridge carrying a busy railway. Golder proposed pipe jacking, using concrete jacking pipes with a curved alignment as the preferred option to optimise the location of drive and reception shafts, as well as the construction methodology of the shafts. Based on Golder’s assessment, the City decided to go with the tunnel approach, which was subsequently contracted as design-build.
“We’re proud to have been recognized by the Tunnelling Association of Canada for our role on the project,” says John Elliott, Principal and leader of Golder’s Shafts and Tunnels Group in Doncaster, UK.
According to TAC, the award is presented, “to a team who has significantly contributed to a project in Canada that has demonstrated the highest level of engineering skill and shown insight and understanding of underground construction.”
The TAC brings together underground infrastructure leaders from across Canada, US and beyond to discuss and promote advancements in tunnelling design. It is the Canadian representative body of the International Tunnelling Association (ITA). Winners of the annual awards were announced at the organization’s virtual Annual General Meeting on November 6, 2020.
