RC111 MarApr 2024 - Magazine - Page 27
The massive gantry crane had been used to build some
of the infrastructure around the 2020 Expo in Dubai. Using
the gantry and prefabricated concrete segments had huge
time-saving potential and o昀昀ered major bene昀椀ts for reducing local road closures. The crane was shipped from Dubai
to Vancouver and travelled by train to Edmonton. The
hydraulics were sent to Italy for a tune-up and shipped
to Montreal before making their way across Canada to be
assembled on 87 Avenue. The size of the crane, and the ongoing global supply chain issues at the time, meant getting
all the parts on site was challenging to say the least.
Offsite to onsite
Each 60-ton concrete segment (90,000 to 120,000 pounds)
is manufactured by Eagle Builders, a local company based
in Blackfalds, Alta., just north of Red Deer, that specializes
in precast concrete. The company has been around since
2000 and hires over 500 people to build precast concrete
segments for all types of construction projects.
Eagle Builders’ 300,000 square foot facility uses huge
steel moulds to cast each segment in an indoor climate-controlled environment. A team of 20-25 people will
prebuild the rebar skeleton within the mould and pour the
concrete. The mould is built into the factory 昀氀oor, retracts
when the segment has cured, then the 昀椀nished segment
is hoisted o昀昀 to be stored until it is needed on site. The
whole process to produce each segment in the factory
takes one to three weeks.
Feat of logistics and engineering
When the gantry crane is ready to start a new section, the
huge 60-ton segments are placed on trucks and make their
way to site in 45-minute intervals. Each section of elevated
guideway requires between 10 and 14 segments. The gantry crane hoists each segment into position, using a winch,
one by one, holding each segment in rough position.
Tensioning cables are run through the segments and pull
them together. Together, the segments are lowered into
place. A high strength epoxy is applied, and the surfaces
are 昀椀nished.
As the crew of 10 people has become more familiar with
the process, a 36-40 metre section of track can now be built
in as little as two to three days, a time saving of up to 70
days when compared to the process of not using a gantry.
With 47 sections of guideway making up the 2.1-kilometre
elevated section, that time saving adds up to a signi昀椀cant
reduction in disruption along a busy and important road.
For the main project elements that cause the most
disruption, we have worked hard to 昀椀nd ways to expedite work. The old Stony Plain Road bridge over the busy
Groat Road was dismantled over a weekend around New
Year’s 2023, and the new girders put in place over a couple
of days later in the year. We continue to 昀椀nd ways to accelerate the work, which will allow us to open the bridge as
quickly as possible. Further west, another bridge crosses Anthony Henday Drive. For this scope of work, the
girders were installed during two nights in January 2024,
one side at a time to allow tra昀케c to keep 昀氀owing along a
critical arterial roadway in the city.
Building something as large and complex as a light rail line will
inevitably lead to road closures and other disruption. Regular ongoing communication with key partners continues to be critical for
our planning. Early and ongoing discussions with the Misericordia
Community Hospital and West Edmonton Mall gave us a strong
understanding of the unique operational challenges we would need to
overcome from day one. Ongoing communication with key partners
will continue to be important in the year ahead as we aim to complete
the elevated guideway and construction work on the two elevated
stations at these two locations.
In partnership with the City of Edmonton, we have met with key
organizations, businesses, community groups, educational and public
institutions, and properties along the route. In many cases we have
set up regular meetings to hear what is most important to them to see
where it is possible to adjust our plans or mitigate impacts.
Project progress so far has been steady, and the year ahead will see
some major project milestones. The LRT line is starting to take shape,
with the elevated guideway expected to be complete by the end of the
year. As with all large construction projects, unexpected challenges
can arise, but we continue to put the impacts on the local community
at the centre of our e昀昀orts to get this transformational project built on
time with the least possible disruption. Once complete, Valley Line
West LRT will give Edmontonians options to access more parts of the
city, supporting Edmonton’s growth into a city of two million people
over the upcoming decades.
TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS FOR
A BETTER PLANET
Population growth and urban concentration make transport
infrastructures the pillars on which sustainable development
must be based. At ACCIONA, we build resilient infrastructures
that contribute to the well-being of today’s society and
tomorrow’s generations.
Discover more at:
The importance of communication
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