OCTOBER 2013
H
business elite canada
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At present, it is anticipated
that the project will be com-
pleted slightly ahead of time
and within the allocated bud-
get. However, the project was
not without its challenges.
The Calgary Airport Authori-
ty was building its new runway
in the same area at the same
time, which created schedul-
ing complications. Delaney
says, “We overcame the chal-
lenge with a good relation-
ship between the contractors
working on each project.” The
site conditions also proved to
be a challenge. Approximately
600,000 cubic metres of dirt
and hard rock had to be ex-
cavated in order to construct
the tunnel. Due to sensitive
electronic equipment in the
area, the construction team
was prohibited from blasting.
Utilising a different approach,
work was conducted using
Vermeer terrain levellers. This
mechanism allowed for the
rock to be broken up and re-
used for other areas of the
project. The excavation stage
progressed 24 hours per day,
seven days per week.
Thankfully, due to proper
preparation no damage to the
tunnel was sustained due to
the June 2013 Alberta floods
that devastated Calgary. A so-
phisticated dewatering system
was in place to keep up with
the overland flows that result-
ed from the tumultuous rain
events. Delaney attributes the
overall success of the project
