Reconnecting the World to Majestic Kananaskis

Transcription

Highway 40 Flood Repairs
Reconnecting the World to Majestic Kananaskis Country
Alberta Transportation
2015 CEA Awards
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Alberta floods of 2013 caused devastating impacts to
nature, infrastructure, and the public. The landscape
remains scarred today. Alberta Transportation, which is
responsible for the province’s highway network, was one of
many organizations and municipalities acutely affected by
the floods. They immediately began calling in additional
resources to shoulder the responsibility of restoring these
areas for the public. A section of Highway 40 through
Highwood Pass was one of the hardest hit, with more than
100 locations in a 55-km stretch that were significantly
damaged. While not a high-traffic route, this unique
portion of highway reaches the highest elevation of any
road in Canada and provides immeasurable benefits to
society, allowing public access to nature and unique
recreational opportunities.
Restoration of access through nature’s
playground was critical following the 2013
Alberta floods.
Associated Engineering’s diverse team of professionals
brought their accumulated experience to provide
innovative and technically focused solutions to address environmental, schedule, and communications
challenges. Our Senior Engineers leveraged their network of industry contacts to find efficiencies and execute
smart solutions that also helped control costs. Our professional biologists applied their understanding of the
regulatory requirements and worked with regulatory agencies, our design team, and the construction team to
develop designs that minimized further environmental impacts, fast-tracked approvals and minimized impacts
to the schedule during project delivery. Creation of a data-management tool to capture and organize data from
environmental monitoring, enhanced the project delivery; it provides a value-added tool that Alberta
Transportation can use in the future.
Highway 40:10 was returned to service less than 5 month after the floods, restoring the highway for travellers
from around the world. Highway restoration was completed while minimizing environmental impacts and
working in a remote, mountainous environment, with minimal access to communication.
We are especially thankful for the wildlife we encountered (always from a safe distance) as these experiences
reminded the entire team of Canada’s natural wonders.
Associated Engineering | 1/10
2015 CEA Awards
1 Project Overview
1.1
Introduction
Between June 19 and 22, 2013, natural conditions,
including above-average snowpack and frozen
ground, combined with a major extended rainfall
event, resulted in extensive flooding and damage to
numerous locations in Southern Alberta. The
extremely large volume of rain was generated by a
low-pressure system that had stalled over the region.
The system pushed humid air from the northeast over
Calgary towards the Rocky Mountains, resulting in
more than 75 mm of rainfall in the City of Calgary and
more than 200 mm in the Town of Canmore. While
the rainfall in these centres caused significant
damage, the epicentre of the storm focused on the
headwaters of the Highwood River.
According to data tracked by Alberta Environment
and Sustainable Resource Development, "in the
space of a day or two, the flows rocketed up 5 to
10 times their normal rates."
Located 50 km south of the Trans-Canada Highway on Highway 40 (Highway 40:10), this area received more
than 325 mm of rainfall during the storm. From these headwaters, flood waters and debris travelled
downstream to many communities, leaving a trail of destruction and devastation. Highway 40:10 suffered
severe erosion and damage to infrastructure and the surrounding natural environment. Drainage courses
were completely overwhelmed, and hydrometric stations failed after flow rates reached 30 times the average.
Shortly after the rain subsided, Alberta Transportation and other
affected authorities began to assess the extent of damage and repairs
needed to their infrastructure. Alberta Transportation retained
Associated Engineering to address the 55-km stretch of Highway 40:10
in the Kananaskis and Elbow-Sheep Wildland Park areas (the project
area). This unique section of mountain road traverses Highwood Pass
(elevation 2207 m/7,239 ft) and is the highest segment of paved road
in Canada. This route through Highwood Pass
is only open for a limited period annually (from
June 15 through December 1), because of the
large amount of wildlife activity in this corridor
during the winter months.
With 117 damaged and affected sites
identified during an initial reconnaissance
fly-over and ground assessment, it was clear
that the repairs along the project area would
require a highly coordinated effort. Associated
Engineering’s team of engineering, and
environmental professionals began to
collaborate immediately to strategize an
efficient repair plan.
2015 CEA Awards
1.2 Challenges
Environment and timeline were two of the main challenges in completing this project. The headwaters of the
Highwood River include Storm Creek, which - according to the provincial Water Act Code of Practice for
Watercourse Crossings - is listed as a Class A, highly sensitive waterbody.
The sensitivity of this creek is attributable to the
occurrence of bull trout (Salvelinus
confluentus), which is provincially listed as a
threatened species because of its very specific
habitat requirements. This sport fish is highly
sensitive to any habitat change, and is an
indicator species for general ecosystem health
(COSEWIC 2013). Bull trout require cold, low
turbidity water, as well as complex, connected
habitat. These fish have been increasingly
threatened by overfishing, stream warming,
habitat degradation through siltation, and
habitat fragmentation as a result of hanging
culverts and other structures that limit fish
access to suitable habitat. This affected the
project delivery because of the limitations
around completing instream work.
Storm Creek – Class A
Bull trout spawning
habitat
Restricted Activity Periods
From the beginning of the project, time was of
the essence. There was a directive to open the
highway as soon as possible, to allow public access prior to the annual closure scheduled for December 1. In
the post-flood context, even the initial site reconnaissance, imperative to develop repair strategies and
estimate quantities, proved to be a challenge; debris flows and washouts made the road impassable at several
locations. Environmental regulatory triggers added layers of complexity to the efforts. Regulatory approvals
needed to be in place prior to starting work at many sites, a process which can often take weeks. In addition,
the presence of bull trout and other fish species prohibited any instream work between September 1 and
August 15 for most of the water bodies south of Highwood Pass, leaving only a 2 week window to perform the
repairs;
As the work entered the construction phase, the timeline challenges continued. With elevations exceeding
2195 m (7,200 ft), the project area was more
susceptible to early winter storms than lower-elevation
roads. Given the compromised stability of some sites
and the limited ability to gather site specific details after
the flood, operation of equipment became a safety and
environmental concern. Site shutdowns were a
potential disruptor that could affect schedule.
Clear communication between Alberta Transportation,
Associated Engineering, and the construction contractor
(Volker Stevin Canada) was integral to keeping the
project on track. Communication was critical for
coordinating site activities, monitoring and controlling
costs, and maintaining regulatory compliance.
2015 CEA Awards
1.3 Solutions
We performed site reconnaissance using an all-terrain vehicle, giving us access through debris flows where
truck travel was not an option. In three days, sufficient information was collected to proceed with the
preparation of a tender document for construction.
Sites requiring in-stream work in the most
sensitive reaches of Storm Creek (the
headwaters of the Highwood River) were
promptly identified and communicated to
Alberta Transportation. Applications were
swiftly prepared; these included drawings
drafted on aerial imagery - as opposed to the
typical survey plans - to facilitate efficient
design detailing for the repair strategies
(shown left). In order to streamline the
regulatory approvals process for Water Act
and Public Lands Act approvals, we used the
post 2013 flood “Expedited Authorization
Process for Flood Recovery” established by
Alberta Environment and Sustainable
Resource Development (ESRD). Our team
Site 129 Design Drawings Drafted on Aerial imagery to Submit with also obtained a blanket fish research licence
Regulatory Applications
permit from ESRD which authorized us to
complete fish habitat assessments and fish salvages at any time, as required, throughout the entire project
area. Taking into account construction schedule, we prioritized regulatory approvals based on the expected
turnaround time by regulators (ESRD), Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and Transport
Canada (Navigable Waters Protection Act).
To address the large workload, the construction
contractor (Volker Stevin Canada) sub-contracted
several work packages, overseeing multiple sites on a
daily basis. Associated Engineering provided a
construction supervisor and an environmental monitor
(supported by provincially regulated Qualified Aquatic
Environmental Specialists) who were on site daily
during construction to assist the repair strategy
process. Because most sites required a field-fit
solution, decisions had to be made quickly and
responsibly, taking into account engineering,
environment, and constructability. With as many as
20 active sites daily and no cell phone or internet
coverage, communication had to be carefully planned.
Daily meetings were held on site for field staff, and
weekly on-site meetings were also held with field and
office team members, including Alberta Transportation.
Satellite phones and radios were used on site;
however, intermittent coverage meant that contact
was often made by driving the extent of the project
area.
The project team identified sites that would require
higher risk, in-stream work. The team avoided
sensitive timeframes and obtained regulatory
approvals using Alberta’s Expedited Authorization
Process for Flood Recovery.
2015 CEA Awards
2 Innovation and Technical Excellence
Associated Engineering provided a large multi-discipline team
to fast-track the repair work from site reconnaissance through
project closure. Site reconnaissance was compressed into
three days, and the field team collected more detail than
during a typical preliminary survey. Completing this work
required senior staff capable of making important repairstrategy, design decisions, and who would have a continuous
role in project delivery. The reconnaissance allowed to
promptly evaluate the situation regarding the following:
Extent of damage;
Repair strategies;
Quantities of material involved in repair; and,
Environmental constraints.
Managing the data throughout the project was complex.
During the site reconnaissance, Associated Engineering used
GPS-enabled cameras, voice recorders, and utilized a
database of pre-identified and geo-referenced locations that
allowed for confirmation of site identification on the ground.
This information was then combined through GoogleEarth™
for quick reference throughout the duration of the project.
Associated Engineering developed a database tool to
consistently and efficiently manage the large number of sites that would require environmental monitoring
during construction. The challenge for our programmers was to develop the tool to accommodate several key
requirements:
Ability for multiple monitors to collect data simultaneously
and on a rotating schedule (i.e. multiple versions of the tool
in use during overlapping timeframes);
Ability to archive multiple photographs captured at each site
monitoring event;
Ability to report to ESRD on fish rescue and fish habitat
events via the Fisheries Management Information System;
and
Ability to store reliable and robust data through effective
quality assurance and quality control.
In addition, the programmers had to design the tool on a short
timeline. The tool was built to mitigate the multiple identified
risks associated with field level data collection, typical of
environmental monitoring. Our programmers developed this tool
in less than 10 days. The tool can be easily modified for other
environmental, engineering and construction scenarios. The
client may consider future use of this tool as part of the added
value provided on this project.
2015 CEA Awards
3 Added Value
Opportunities to improve project delivery while adding value on this project were demonstrated through the
application of our experience and connections leading to reduced material sourcing, and expediting public
access to one of nature’s natural gems.
Cost-Effective Materials Handling: Materials management
was a significant cost item on this project. The team spent
time to analyze and understand the materials handling
requirements. As a result, volumes of materials transferred
in and out of the sites were minimized, as well as hauling
distances. The team used a mass haul diagram based on
initial quantity estimates that indicated the approximate
surplus and deficit volumes across the length of the
117 sites.
Associated Engineering’s corporate sponsor was a Senior
Diagram created to determine the location and
Engineer with 40 years of experience on transportation
volume of surplus material along the project length
projects in Alberta. In situations where additional
construction materials were needed, his experience and contacts helped resource materials. He contacted
and obtained advice from the project manager responsible for the construction of Highway 40:10 in the
1980s. Together, they were able to access historical construction drawings and identify spoil piles in the rightof-way that could provide additional borrow material,
thus eliminating the need for identifying and hauling
borrow materials, and resulting in significant cost
savings to the project.
Expedited Public Access: The early opening of this
section of highway provided added value to travellers
and the general public. On September 4, 2013,
Alberta Transportation opened 20 km of the Highway
40 to the public, ahead of schedule. This included
the Highwood Pass, a draw for many Canadian and
international tourists and recreationalists.
A Transparent Process: While schedule was important, emphasis was also placed on obtaining the best value
for the project. The construction work was awarded through a public Tender, as opposed to being directly
awarded to Alberta Transportation’s maintenance contractor on an emergency basis, which is how more critical
repairs - such as on the Trans-Canada Highway - were handled. While the public Tender process did add
significant time to the overall schedule, it ensured that the work was performed at market value. Impact to the
schedule was mitigated by ensuring that key staff members were available at the initial site investigation to
make immediate design decisions. Construction supervision staff was encouraged to work with the Contractor
to adjust repair strategies, as needed, to meet project deadlines.
2015 CEA Awards
4 Degree of Difficulty
Handling a small subset of these projects at any one time might not be difficult; however, managing all 117
sites under the umbrella of one project, advancing enough sites to completion such that the highway could be
opened to the public in less than 5 months, and addressing more than 60 sites with environmental regulatory
triggers were significant accomplishments.
As an illustration of this, one of the 117 sites (Site 92) was identified as high risk during the reconnaissance
phase due to the road washouts at this location and the continued flow of water into the failed road section.
Based on assessments, it was determined that this site had been significantly altered from its pre-flood
conditions. The site is located at the confluence of Storm Creek and an unnamed tributary, and includes two
bridge file-sized culverts (approximately 4 m in diameter). Both culverts were blocked during the flood and the
diverted water created a new channel. This channel extended along the highway ditch for more than 2.5 km.
The repairs at this site were assigned an emergency
status (from a regulatory perspective under the Water
Act) because of concern for public safety if the road
continued to fail as a result of the compromised
stability. Several on-site discussions about the
benefits and risks of repair options were evaluated
prior to proceeding.
Repairs at Site 92 were designed and detailed
through a six-stage process that addressed the two
blocked culverts, the diverted channel, and more than
20,000 m3 of material that had been deposited
throughout the site. With respect to environmental
concerns, the repair activities required continued
water quality monitoring, confirmation of fish absence
throughout the newly established channel, and design
One of six drawings developed for repairs at Site 92. Each
of temporary diversions and isolation measures to
drawing provides details about construction and
re-connect the channel while minimizing sediment
environmental tasks.
transport in-stream. Drawing plans and sketches
were implemented through a collaborative field-fit that was based on site discussions between the
construction supervisor and our engineer, environmental monitor, and construction contractor. The culverts
were successfully cleared and returned to their original function, the channel was re-established in its
historical location, and all works were completed with negligible impacts to fish and fish habitat.
5 Management of Risk
During the pre-construction meeting for the entire project area, an
identified risk was that preliminary surveys had not been completed
prior to initiation of work (due to time constraints). It was decided that
LIDAR data obtained after the 2013 flood would be used to calculate
quantities for payment items. To verify the accuracy of the data,
ground-truth surveying was completed at several sites.
To manage the construction staging, it was agreed to generally work
on sites from north to south, as this would allow for easier supervision
from construction and environmental perspectives. This minimized
2015 CEA Awards
the areas to be covered by the construction supervisor and environmental monitor on a daily basis, reducing
work inefficiencies, environmental compromises, and cost.
6 Benefit to Society
The project area is a huge attraction for recreational
enthusiasts and tourists from Canada and around the globe.
Located in the Rocky Mountains, this highway provides
access to many accommodations and economic drivers in the
area. Some of these include the Delta Lodge, Kananaskis
Country Golf Course, and numerous campgrounds and day
use areas. Additionally, Highway 40:10 provides a needed
access for local ranchers, resource development, and natural
area management and protection including forest fire and
search and rescue.
The reopening of the road, less than 5 months after the
disastrous flood events, allowed the region to quickly recover.
In addition, repairs to the road were engineered to provide additional public safety and further protect the
infrastructure and the environmental assets in the area, all of which are benefits to society.
Several elements of this project demonstrate this commitment:
Installation and use of cable barrier guardrail (to protect vehicles from
new rip rapped areas, areas with steeper than previously impacted
slopes, or where the water body was now closer to the highway);
Installation of side hill sub-drains (to prevent future slope failures);
Installation of rip rap (where bank protection was not present or had
been weakened as a result of the storm).
7 Environmental Value
As stated previously, approximately 60 out of the 117 sites triggered specific environmental obligations. The
environmental team liaised directly with Alberta Transportation’s regional environmental coordinator, as well
as regulators (ESRD, DFO, Transport Canada) to expedite regulatory approvals and permitting throughout the
project. Early in the repairs, Associated Engineering
organized a site visit with the local ESRD fisheries
biologist and Alberta Transportation’s environmental
coordinator to discuss the complexities of the project
and practical repair options. During ESRD’s follow-up
visits, they communicated that site activities had
been well managed from the environmental
perspective.
Considering the range of environmental approvals
and authorizations that were required, a reference
binder was provided to the contractor and lead
subcontractors. The documents in this binder
2015 CEA Awards
identified the environmental obligations specific to each site. Once construction at each site commenced, an
environmental monitor was present during all activities. Environmental monitors worked with construction
contractors to minimize in-stream impacts during repairs. This included water quality monitoring for sediment
impacts, recommendations regarding erosion and sediment control measures (including turbidity curtains and
sediment fencing), advice on water management and diversion, fish rescue and relocation, and discussion
about staging, maintenance, and use of equipment on site. Co-operation and collaboration between the
environmental monitors and the construction contractor and sub-contractors allowed for practical and
environmentally responsible solutions throughout the project.
8 Advancement of Technology
Typically, horizontal directional drilling is used to cross rivers and
lakes to minimize disruption to fish and fish habitat and riparian
areas. A unique application of this technology was applied on this
project: a directional drill rig was used to clear debris from plugged
culverts. This was especially effective for smaller-diameter culverts,
as the options for cleaning out deposited materials from these
culverts tend to be limited. Often, flood damage renders these
culverts ineffective for drainage and watercourse conveyance.
Culvert clean-out also required the use of small excavation
equipment, and several mine tunnelling techniques.
In addition to the drilling technology, the use of geo-referenced site locations and photographs throughout this
complex project allowed for quick and accurate reference when conversing about site specific repair strategies
and environmental requirements by all members of the team.
9 Conclusion
Through careful planning and communications with
regulators and coordination with the contractor, road
access through Highway 40:10 was restored in
November 2013, less than five months after the
flood. Ongoing construction activities continued and
repairs to 55 km of Highway 40 was completed in
August 2014. Facing tremendous environmental and
schedule pressures, the Associated Engineering team
developed a cost-effective, environmentally sensitive
rehabilitation strategy for Highway 40, through
thoughtful design and construction management
using their experience, network of contacts, and
technology tools.
10 Acknowledgments
Completing the majority of the repairs in five months required the experience, knowledge, and environmental
stewardship of all team members. We would like to acknowledge the following people:
2015 CEA Awards
Alberta Transportation: Nino de Laurentiis, Leslie Wensmann and Ross Dickson
Associated Engineering: Dwight Carter, Des Kernahan, Darryl Schalk, Erin Rooney, Fiona Mulvenna,
Matt Freeman
Volker Stevin Canada: Lorenz Bohnert, Rex Davidson
ESRD: Kevin Brayford, Shannon Cholach, Frankie Kerr, Jenny Earle, Mike Sanderman
Fisheries and Oceans Canada: Stephanie Martens
The commitment of these individuals was critical to meeting project timelines.

Reconnecting the World to Majestic Kananaskis

Transcription

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