Nucor Skyline adds strength to Canal de l’Aqueduc with new bulkhead wall By Janet Himstead, Technical Writer, Nucor Skyline
Built in 1853, the Canal de l’Aqueduc on the Island of Montreal in Québec, Canada, is an open-air aqueduct. The canal serves as part of the drinking water supply for the city of Montreal and draws water from the Saint Lawrence River. It runs through the city of LaSalle and the boroughs of Verdun and Le Sud-Ouest, where it ends at an underground reservoir and pumping station in the City of Montreal. While the canal itself is closed off with fences, it is lined with wetlands, a bicycle path, and a park along its southern banks for pedestrians and bicyclists to enjoy the beauty surrounding it. The canal runs approximately 8,100 metres in length and 32 PIC Magazine • December 2020
varies between 30 and 50 metres in width. Canals, waterways, and wetlands are exposed continuously to erosion and flooding from rainfall and runoff. One way to keep the earthen sides of a canal from eroding is to build a retaining wall. A retaining wall helps keep the earth in place and protects the surrounding areas from runoff and flooding. Preventing the runoff also increases the water quality in the canal by keeping the turbidity low. A retaining wall that retains soil on the backside and water on the front side is called a seawall or a bulkhead. These walls come in many forms, such as concrete, interlocking steel sheet piles, or steel combi-wall systems. At Canal de l’Aqueduc, there was an additional reason for the bulkhead wall, as a new highway was being built alongside the canal, and the bulkhead would also add support for the roadway. The existing elevated highway near the canal will be demolished and the new highway will be built at ground level. The joint venture of KPH-Turcot/WSP/
