Project Summary

Client
FTG Constructors

Budget
$20 Million

Services
Construction Management

Market
Transportation

Project Description

A wall solution was required in North Delta to facilitate Highway 17 construction. Shotcrete was chosen for it is top-down construction which allowed for Pioneer Road construction and excavation to happen concurrently. 6000 m2 of architectural cast-in-place finishing was utilized in order to create an aesthetically pleasing stretch of highway.

RAM’s Role
RAM was retained by the joint venture FTG Constructors, comprising of Ledcor, Dragados, BellPacific and Vancouver Pile Driving. This $700 Million P-3 project was a design, build, operate, finance and maintain. RAM provided project management services for construction and technical design review in two disciplines; earthworks and walls. RAM staff was integrated into the joint venture team and directly managed 4 different shoring and excavation subcontractors just for the North Delta area.

Project Highlights

Due to the limited right-of-way, there was a maximum height the shotcrete walls could reach before encroaching into private property. Considerable cost savings were found during the design of the soil nail walls for the project. The soil nail walls were initially designed with 150mm cased holes with solid bar nails but the local market only possessed limited equipment for this type of drilling. The design was changed to 100mm self-drilling, hollow bar nails. This change allowed smaller drilling equipment (air-tracks) which are readily available in the local market, more cost effective, and faster to drill.

The shotcrete finish method saved 4 months of construction compared to traditional cast-in-place methods. The faux stone finish was completed by carving, stamping and colouring the shotcrete. This was a first time this type of finish was implement on a BC highway and on any BC project of this magnitude