Parker Ave Residential
Scope of Work
Western Grater Drilled and installed 7 12’ piles to support a portion of the Large residential structure, Utilizing one of our Down the Hole Hammer (DTH) Drills. WGC maintains a fleet of DTH drills, many of which are capable of limited access drilling, allowing us to reach locations not accessible with traditional means
Pandora Co-Live
Scope of work
The Pandora project consisted of multiple scopes of work for western grater including blasting, shotcrete shoring and tie-back anchors. The shotcrete shoring system consisted of H piles drilled in from the surface, horizontal whaler beams and tie-back anchors to further support the vertical shotcrete wall. Traditional blasting methods were used to complete excavation to the desired depth.
The Proxima
Scope of work
Like many sites on Vancouver Island, rock is rarely far away. The Proxima is situated almost entirely on solid bed rock, requiring quite a bit of blasting for Western Grater to achieve the desired depth to allow for ample off-street parking in two levels of underground parkade. Shoring Along the Lampson Street property line consisted of 4” pipe piles and tie back anchors to achieve a safe vertical shoring wall, and to maximize the full extent of the property.
Challenges
The Proxima is Located on the corner of two very busy streets (Lampson St. and Esquimalt St.) including a busy intersection. Like most Urban blasting operations great care was taken to ensure the safety of the public and surrounding structures while attempting to minimize the impact on the neighboring community.
Cook Street Plaza
Scope of Work
Cook Street Plaza (CSP) consisted of multiple scopes of work for Western Grater including shotcrete shoring and tie-back anchors as well as structural shotcrete. The shotcrete shoring consists of welded wire mesh and rebar to reinforce the shotcrete to create a stable vertical wall allowing developers to maximize land utilization. Tie-back anchors are drilled and grouted to further support shotcrete wall system. Western Grater utilizes an EVO anchor bar system which greatly improves efficiency over traditional drilling methods. Due to the depth of the excavation, H piles were also used to further stabilize the vertical shoring wall. The structural shotcrete aspect consists of traditional rebar reinforcement but lacks the need for traditional formwork, greatly increasing efficiency for the contractor.
Challenges
The Cook Street Plaza project consists of two separate buildings, The Haven, and The Nest, in the confines of a single excavation which generally creates a lot of congestion on-site. CSP is also located near the heart of Victoria adding logistical challenges due to busy streets and sidewalks as well as limited staff parking. The depth of the excavation also brought us down into the soft marine clay soils commonly found in the greater Victoria area. Once again, the WGC team overcame the challenges and completed the project on schedule.
The Wedge
Scope of Work
WGC’s involvement in The Wedge project spanned multiple scopes of work, including excavation, shoring, and structural shotcrete. The excavation process, which began in 2020 and lasted approximately 12 months, required urban blasting to manage the site’s challenging conditions, such as excessive groundwater and soft marine blue clay. H piles were used in the shoring system to achieve the necessary excavation depth and maximize underground parking. Following the completion of the shoring process, WGC transitioned to structural shotcrete, utilizing this innovative method for walls and columns, which was a departure from traditional forming methods. Notably, WGC is the only NorLand business unit specializing in structural shotcrete, showcasing its unique expertise in this field.
Challenges & Solutions
With the Wedge Building being located in the heart of Victoria, there are many logistical challenges to overcome, one of which is often the lack of site access. Due to the excavation depth, no site entrance road was available, requiring all materials to be craned in and out of the site. Fortunately, M.R. Cranes provided excellent assistance in this challenge. Another challenge involved in the downtown setting is safe blasting procedures, WGC excels at our guarding and covering procedures to always ensure public and worker safety. A continuing challenge in the downtown Victoria region is the presence of soft marine clay, due to the proximity to the ocean and depth of excavation much of this material and groundwater was encountered, creating less than ideal working conditions but as usual, the workers endured and completed this project on time once again.
Aura Apartments
Scope of work
The majority of the Aura project is blasting as two large mounds of rock mounds with a central valley encompass the site. An older road stabilization lock block wall spans the valley which requires Shotcrete Shoring to support the wall as the excavation extends below the base of the wall. The unstable nature of the local rock formations requires rock fall mesh to ensure worker safety while foundation works occur
Challenges
Located in a small residential area, road access to the Aura proved to be quite a challenge. Western Grater and the other contractors on site worked closely with the neighbours to minimize the negative impact on the neighbourhood. Blast mats were used to prevent fly rock and to mitigate any potential damage to surrounding homes and structures.
Langshire Blasting
Scope of work
The scope of work on the Langshire project was mainly blasting but due to local conditions WGC also drilled and installed rock bolting and some shotcrete to secure loose rock and unstable geological formations.
Challenges
The Westshore Parkway in Langford hosts many other neighbouring commercial buildings including some in active construction. Large-scale blasting in semi-urban conditions produces many challenges for the team as there are many potential hazards to watch for, including many construction workers and their equipment in the blasting area. Great care was taken to ensure open communication with surrounding trades to make sure everyone goes home at the day safe and happy every day.
Center Mountain Quarry
Scope of work
Western Grater Maintains a fleet of Epiroc Flexiroc Hydraulic rock drills, which are utilized to drill 4” diameter holes ranging from 25’ to 50’ deep. Blast sizes vary a fair amount ranging from 80 to 300 holes per blast. Due to the size of the blasts, covering the shot with blast matts is not feasible therefore great care is taken while loading to ensure all rock remains in the blasting area. The blasted rock is then transported with excavators and rock trucks from the blast area to the crusher where it is crushed to various sizes for various uses.
Challenges
As a rock quarry Center Mountain is governed by the Ministry of Mines rather than WorkSafe BC as most of our other blasting operations are. WGC has offered extensive training to our most qualified blasters to obtain their Mines Blasting Certification and to maintain stringent safety procedures for loading and guarding. Western Grater holds one of the highest safety records in the business.