INNOVATION May-June 2012

CLIFFWALK at North Vancouver’s Capilano Suspension Bridge Park allows people to safely access the face of a 90 m high granite cliff on a labyrinth-like series of narrow cantilevered bridges, stairs and platforms through an old growth west coast rainforest. Morrison Hershfield provided structural design, construction inspection, erection, mechanical and electrical engineering and instrumentation testing services. The construction allowed the reclamation of 8,100 m 2 of previously unusable park land and incorporated unique ground-breaking techniques for this one-of-a-kind park that hosts over 750,000 visitors annually. Award of Merit Vancouver City Central Transmission

site constraints while creating an aesthetically pleasing form. Innovative use of steel and concrete kept the bridge deck thin but strong. Tree piers were used to support the bridge at short intervals, and were standardized to improve efficiency of fabrication to save time and money. A crisscrossing hanger rod pattern spread loads uniformly through the slender arch. This functional and aesthetic design was delivered on time and on budget. Award of Merit South Fraser Perimeter Road Landfill Closure Project

Consultant: Kerr Wood Leidal Associates | Client/Owner: City of Coquitlam The lower third of ecologically rich Partington Creek watershed is planned for a $1.5 billion greenfield development. Over the next 20 years, what is now forested land will become a new town centre, home to about 12,000 people. To develop an integrated watershed management plan, Kerr Wood Leidal Associates’ approach processed land use and watershed planning, and financial modelling concurrently, not sequentially, to maximize environmental protection and rainwater management. The process minimized impacts to the creek and optimized stormwater infrastructure. The most valuable fish habitat along Partington Creek will be enhanced to achieve a net environmental benefit. Award of Merit Mapping on the Move – GeoAutomation Mobile Mapping of the South Fraser Perimeter Road

Consultant: CH2MHILL Canada | Client/ Owner: BCMinistry of Transportation and Infrastructure | Location: Delta The Landfill Closure project encompasses a section of the South Fraser Perimeter Road alignment that crosses through five construction waste landfills located south of the Fraser River and north of Burns Bog. The alignment was chosen to maximize development potential of industrial lands reclaimed by their closure. Project successes involved designing a highway on existing landfills and an innovative leachate collection system better suited to the conditions of the existing landfills, as well as the revitalization of under-used industrial lands while increasing protection for Burns Bog, an environmentally sensitive area. Natural Resource, Energy and Industry Award of

Consultant: Golder Associates | Client/ Owner: BC Hydro and Power Authority This project is BCHydro’s most significant investment in central Vancouver’s electrical grid in almost 30 years. A vital component of the project is the 1 km transmission line section crossing False Creek inlet and linking the new systemupgrades. Golder provided geotechnical and environmental services throughout the permit application, and design and construction process, and managed the technical design aspects and construction contract of the horizontal directional drilling crossing. This project demonstrated the feasibility of completing large diameter bores using this drilling method within dense glacial soils, historically considered high risk. Soft Engineering Award of Excellence Partington Creek: ANewWatershed Development Planning Process

Consultant: McElhanney Consulting Services | Owner: BCMinistry of Transportation and Infrastructure | Client: Fraser Transportation Group Construction Utilizing the latest GeoAutomation® mobile mapping system to obtain high accuracy geo-referenced information suitable for detailed designs, McElhanney provided data along 40 km of the South Fraser Perimeter Road to enable detailed engineering designs to proceed promptly. The system integrates data collected from truck mounted cameras and computer- controlled digital cameras with GPS ground control points to produce 3D geo-referenced datasets. This is the first use of mobile mapping technology on a major project in BC, resulting in an immediate cost advantage as well as efficiencies that accelerated product deliveries, enhanced safety to staff and public, and reduced air pollution. v

Excellence Capilano Cliffwalk Consultant: Morrison Hershfield | Client/Owner: Capilano Group of Companies

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